Teen Titans: Devil's Requiem
by Splint
Summary: A string of robberies involving mysterious items are perpetrated by some new villains. The Titans are now on the case to reveal the truth. Please Read & Review. Pairings: RobxStar BBxRae. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, just the plot and some original characters.

Jump City.

A thriving city on the west coast.

Ranked one of the highest income cities in all of the U.S. rivaling New York, Metropolis or even Gotham city. It earns hundreds of millions of dollars annually. This growth has long attracted businessmen far and wide from all-over America and elsewhere around the world eager to cash in on the ever-climbing economy. And not just big rich guys are attracted to this place, the little people as well, of all races, looking for jobs to support their assorted families making Jump city also one of the most populated cities in the world.

All these people simply, casually going to work, going home, playing with their kids, going to school, building, driving, doing whatever.

Simply living.

But more than these people are attracted by the booming profit from this city. There are other people. People who steal and take whatever they want. People who destroy and wreak havoc on the masses of innocents.

People other people call criminals.

They want in on the money too after all. And they're willing to do anything and everything to get it no matter the cost and whom it is costing.

The are evil and must be stopped.

But fortunately for the people of Jump city there is another kind of people. People who fight crime and protect the innocent. People who defend peace, justice and morals of society.

People other people call heroes

The Teen Titans

Robin. Apprentice of The Batman. Trained in many various forms martial arts and close quarter combat to reach peak physical strength, stamina, and agility. Armed with an arsenal of hi-tech gadgets and weaponry. Gifted with superior intellect and cunning rivaled by none. He is a veritable one-man army.

Starfire. Warrior Princess from the planet Tamaran. Possessing natural physical abilities equivalent to a hundred times that of an ordinary human and at the same is capable of flight. An ability to generate bioethiric energy pulses and projects such energies to foes makes her a very formidable ally.

Cyborg. Half man, half machine. The perfect blend of Biology and Technology pushing the human potential to its absolute limit. Super strength and unlimited power backed by the most advanced technology developed by man. A tower of human triumph fighting for justice.

Raven. Sorceress and daughter of the demon Trigon. Knowledgeable in the black arts of magic. Possessing emphatic abilities to read people's emotions coupled by astounding telekinesis to bend and break surrounding objects at a mere thought.

Beast Boy. Green skinned animorph. Can transform his entire anatomy into that any organism that ever existed on Earth. Harnessing the raw carnal and animalistic prowess of Mother Nature itself. A foe not to be underestimated.

Together they protect Jump City and all it's inhabitants from all forms of evil threatening to pollute the peace with chaos and corruption.

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**_CRASH! _**

The Roscher Bank, east district of Jump city

The doors explode inward and crash inside the first floor lobby of the building. Most people knocked away by the shockwave to the far wall. Others duck and hide behind desk and counters. Slowly they take a glance at what was once the front door of the bank now a gaping hole in the wall and at the center was huge outstretched fist. People gasp in horror at the recognition of the perpetrator as he pulls his hand back and casually walk in.

The once tranquil morning air is disturbed by the breaking in of an all too infamous criminal, a giant of a man standing over fifteen feet tall. He wore some kind of high-tech suit colored mostly in bright industrial red that artificially enhances his over-all strength and size with the exception of his own head that was barely half the width of one of his cybernetic hands.

Adonis

"Alright ya'll, you know the drill!" He bellows to the horrified crowd cowering in his shadow. "All the money in bags, NOW! Before I decide I need to work on my boxing technique."

Not wanting to argue, or end up as paste, the tellers quickly started stuffing cash in moneybags. Adonis makes a gesture with on hand and everybody began tossing the bags filled with cash at his feet.

"Hahahahaha, like taking candy from a baby HAHA! " Adonis laughed out loud.

"Hold it right there, Adonis!"

Adonis whips his head around to look at the broken entrance he created just a while ago. There stood Robin with his arms crossed taking a pose as it seemed. Next to either side of him was Cyborg and Beast Boy in tense stances of their own. Behind the boys the figures of Starfire and Raven floated a few feet of the ground.

"Heh! And speakin' of babies." Adonis turns completely around to face the teens "you're a lot earlier than I expected birdie boy!"

"Maybe for you we are…" said Robin "but you sowed up just in time."

"Eh?"

"You've robbed four other banks for the past week all of them here in the eastern district of town. It was obvious you were gonna take this place next" said Robin smirking slightly.

"Wow, now that is some goooood detective work Boy Blunder." Adonis drools monotonously.

At this point Robin's smirk fades.

"Dude, just quit already!" Beast Boy states with a sense of pride. "We've been through this already before. And you lost!"

"What! You think I wasn't expecting you brats!" Adonis takes a fighting stance. "I may be the muscular type but I'm no dunce. I've had a lot of upgrades I prepared specially for you punks. Lemme show ya!"

He thrusts his right hand forward. The hand flipped backwards into a compartment in the top of the wrist while at the same time is replaced by what looked like a six-barreled gatling cannon that flipped from the underside of the wrist.

The Titans' eyes bulge out

"Surprised?" Adonis grins widely.

"Titans, MOVE!" called out Robin just as Adonis starts firing his gatling arm.

The Titans ran/flew in all different directions to avoid being hit by the storm of ammunition. Adonis holds down the trigger, as it seemed to keep firing and follows Robin's trail first.

Robin runs parallel to the wall right of the entrance and notices the trail of bullets following him. He quickly thinks of a strategy and bolts up the wall, Adonis's fire following suite. Robin reaches to his utility belt, retrieves his grappling hook, and fires it at the ceiling. He flies upward on the line holding his grappler on one hand and using the other to throw smoke pellets in Adonis's face exploding on impact.

"Yaaarghh!" Adonis is forced to stop firing as the smoke paints his vision gray. He tries to make out anything in the smog but sees only a bright, green entity heading his way at the speed of sound and plow into his chest with the force of a bullet train.

"OOF!" "RRrrrrggghhh!"

Adonis emerges out of the fog being shoved Starfire all the way to the opposite wall of the lobby. They crash, making a side ways crater on the wall and a huge dust cloud. Starfire lifts off Adonis and hovers some few feet above him.

"Cease your criminal acts immediately on this facility Adonis!" Starfire orders out "Surrender and we may make lighter your consequential punishment. What is your say?"

A giant fist comes at her from the dust cloud. Starfire's eyes grow wide and she blocks with her arms at the last second.

"Oooff!" Starfire is thrown back a bit and lands on the floor on her knee, a bit stunned.

"Two words: Eat Lead!" Adonis lifts his gatling arm and aims at Starfire

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

A black energy field appears around Starfire blocking every bullet being fired at her.

"Huh?" Adonis looks to the side and sees Raven floating nearby…along with two large desks that were telekinetically hanging in the air just behind her.

Raven's eyes flash ebony and she throws a hand in the direction of Adonis. One of the floating desk shoots towards Adonis at break-neck speed.

Adonis sees it coming and jumps away from the wall at the last second as the flying desk impacts and explodes into splinters

Adonis rolls to a stop at the center of the lobby. He looks to Raven who was now sending the second desk his way like a rocket. Adonis stands his ground and backhands the desk to pieces with his untransformed left hand.

"Ughh!" The desk explodes to smithereens from the cybernetic hand. "Your gonna pay for that"

Adonis returns Raven's tactic by grabbing a nearby desk and flinging it at her. Raven dodges to the side and her sight follows the desk until it hits the back wall. She darts her eyes back in Adonis' direction only to see a few more airborne office furniture flying her way.

Raven hurriedly flies backward till she reaches the back wall. She makes a portal on the wall and disappears into it just as the furniture makes impact. Adonis surveys the impact to any sign of the dark sorceress.

In doing so he is off-guard to a green-skinned tiger pouncing him from behind.

"ROARRR!"

"ArrrGGhhh!" The green tiger latches to the struggling Adonis from behind, claws digging into ho armor leaving huge scratch marks while also biting and nibbling at his helmeted head. Adonis fails around maddeningly in attempting to get rid of the animorph.

"Get off my back you stupid little--raarrrgGGHH!" Adonis grabs Beast Boy by his feline neck and hurls him overhead and away from his person. Tiger Beast Boy transforms back to his elf form in time to hit and roll on the floor some several feet away.

"Ugh! Dude! That hurt!" Beast Boy stated as he got up rubbing his head, glaring at Adonis.

"Man when I'm done with ya, your gonna--!"

"Yo! Muscle Boy!"

"Huh?" Adonis looks to his left just in time to be hooked a number of times in the face by a charging Cyborg. "Yagh !-- Yagh! -- YarrgghhHH!"

"AGH!" The impacts sends Adonis stumbling backwards. An opportunity Beast Boy takes advantage of.

Beast Boy transforms into a gorilla and makes for the dazed villain. He grabs Adonis' right gatling hand in his left hand and begin to squeeze hard bending the multiple barrels inward while with Adonis' face in his right palm.

"Daaagh!" "ROAARR!"

Adonis makes a blind grab for Beast Boy's arm. He gets lucky and throws Beast Boy over his shoulder forcing him to let go of his face and gatling arm.

Beast Boy flips in mid air, land on a crouch in elf form, facing Adonis who glares angrily and aims his gatling arm…only to find out it's been rendered useless by Beast Boy's gorilla grip. Beast boy smirks amusedly at his dumbfounded foe.

"YaaarrrggHHH!" Robin swings downward and kicks Adonis in the face knocking him backwards a bit. Robin then flips backwards while throwing a couple of explosive birdarangs in Adonis' direction. This was followed up by some starbolts courtesy of Starfire plus a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. All three attacks met their marks causing Adonis to completely fall over backwards.

The three Titans regrouped to where Beast Boy landed taking a fighting stance. Raven soon appeared behind them from a dark portal and hovers at ready.

"Yo man, just do what B.B. said earlier and quit while yer ahead! Or gotta a head!" said Cyborg with a smirk of confidence on his face.

"Your little work-out is over Adonis!" followed up Robin similarly smirking "it's time for you to cool-down."

"Indeed it would be your best option to surrender." Said Starfire preparing a starbolt in each hand.

"Dude, game over." said Beast Boy

"Aaarrrrgh!" Adonis gets back to his feet "You think you punks have won--?" He stretches his arms sideward and heaves his chest outward. Panels on his cybernetic abs and chest open up to reveal assorted missiles and gatling cannons that were hidden under his armor. Then more rocket launch pods popped out of his shoulders, waist, thighs, and even ankles. "--Think AGAIN!"

All the Titans sweatdroped except for Raven who simply raises an eyebrow.

"I said I prepared for you guys getting in my way – " the weapons all over Adonis' body began to glow to life " – and I'm gonna prove it!"

"I seriously don't think you want to do that." Raven says out of the blue monotonously.

"LIKE HELL I DON'T!" he begins to fire his weapons.

"Azerath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven's eyes glow as she throws her hands forward.

Just as Adonis fires all of his munitions, a dark ebony sphere surrounds him. The launched weaponry impacts with the inner wall of the sphere and backfires on the spheres center. Adonis' eyes bulge.

"NnnooooOOO! ---"

_**BOOOOM** _

All the force of the explosions is contained within the sphere of black energy.

The Titans look onward curiously at the scene as well as several other people who were hiding and taking cover.

…

Raven now relaxes her arms and her eyes stop glowing. The black energy sphere disappears releasing dust and smoke. Adonis stands awkwardly, his eye swirling around.

"Mommy, I don't wanna go to school today…" he drools. His armor then spontaneously falls apart. Adonis falls face first to floor around pieces of his dismantled armor. Unconscious.

A moment of silence passes.

…

Then.

"_Yahhoooo!"_

"_Woo Hooo!"_

"_They did it!"_

"_Go Titans, GO!"_

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It was now almost noon as many police cars and SWAT vans park outside the Roscher bank in the aftermath of Adonis' attempted robbery. Curious crowds stand behind police barricades looking at the scene. A couple of news helicopters fly overhead.

Police and SWAT officers come out of the bank hauling with them a handcuffed, much shorter Adonis missing his body armor. A few more officers come out carrying out boxes containing random broken pieces of said armor with the word 'Evidence' tagged on the side of each box. Then a whole bunch of random people, some escorted by police and medics, start filing out.

Lastly, a SWAT officer and five costumed teens come out. Cheers immediately erupt from the on looking crowd.

"Thanks a bunch Titans." Said the SWAT officer, "We've been trying to nail this guy for past three days and suffered a lot of injuries on our men, and you guys take him down in five minutes. Now that's kickass!"

"It's cool sergeant," replied Robin "we just do what we can for the people"

"Well a big thanks anyway, see ya around." With that the officer leaves the Titans in front of the bank to themselves.

"Wellllll, that went smoother than I expected." Said Cyborg as he stretched his arms.

"Yes' today's engagement was 'a portion of baked pastry'," agrees Starfire, smiling.

"Um…its 'piece of cake' Star," Raven monotonously corrects her verbally challenged companion.

"Oh…my badness"

"Upgrades, shmupgrades!" Beast Boy exclaims loudly "The dude is a loser no matter he thinks he's got!"

"Well now that everything's settled down," says Robin "what else do you guys wanna do?"

"It's gettin' close to noon ya'll," interjects Cyborg "waddaya say we get some grub."

"Yeah dude, I vote that!" says Beast Boy.

"So do I!" Starfire agrees gleefully.

"Sure, whatever…" said Raven in her usual tone.

"Alright, the pizza place it is then…" Robin decides for everyone.

"Boo-ya!" Cyborg exclaims.

Cyborg flips open a panel in his arm and pushes a button inside. Seconds later, the mechanical marvel that is the T-car pulls up by the front side of the building

"All aboard y'all!" calls out Cyborg. They all walk towards the vehicle. As Raven makes her way to the T-car she suddenly pauses. Her eyes grow wider either in surprise or curiosity. Her eyes dart up to search for something, though she didn't know what exactly to search for.

"Yo Rea, let's move girl!" Cyborg calls out from the driver side window. Ravens eyes dart back down. The rest of the Titans were now seated inside the T-car waiting for Raven to join them.

She dismisses the feeling for now and proceeds to enter the T-car. They all take their respective seats inside the T-car and drive off leaving the scene behind for the police to secure

Meanwhile unbeknownst to the Titans, the police, and to all who reside on the street, two lonely figures, one taller than the other by a foot and a half, stand on the edge of the roof of the building across the street from the bank. Both hooded figures have their respective features hidden completely with large, baggy, hooded over-coats that covered them from head to toe, laden with pockets and belt straps. They stare at the leaving T-car. When it went out of sight their eyes dart back to the scene several stories bellow.

"This is an unexpected complication…" the taller stated under the hood of his coat, his voice that of a young male as it seemed.

"Yeah, totally screws up the plan," the shorter said, this time voicing of a young female.

"No way we're getting in that safe deposit today."

"tsk…"

A ringing sound emanates from the male figure. He reaches his hand in one of the many pockets on his wardrobe to retrieve a ringing cellphone. He answers the caller.

"Yeah?"

"…"

"How'd ya know?"

"…"

The male looks up and spots the news helicopters focused on the scene below them.

"Oh yea… I see…" replies the male to the phone.

"…"

"I understand…"

"…"

"Will do." He terminates the call and pockets away his phone.

"What did he say?" Asked the female.

"Like I said were not getting anything done today. We go back."

"I see…"

"…Don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" her voice slightly stuttering.

"We'll get another chance, let's be patient."

"…all right."

"C'mon, lets go…"

The two turn away from the scene and start walking away. Once they reach the edge of the building, they leap…a distance of thirty feet onto the next building and land unhindered on the roof. They get up immediately and sprint to opposite edge then jump again to the next structure. They do so repeatedly, speedily making their way south.

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The pizza place downtown. A popular venue for most people in the area to dine on something Italian every once and a while. With a menu consisting of a variety of assorted pizza toppings for the customer to choose, there is something for everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

"Dude, how many times do I have to tell you Cy!" Beast Boy growls to his metallic friend from across the table were they sat, a big vein pulsing on his fore head, "I don't eat meat!"

"And how many times do I have to tell you B.B.!" retorts Cyborg "Pepperoni ain't meat!"

"Yeah it is!"

"No it ain't!"

"Yeah it is!"

"No it ain't!"

"It is!"

"It ain't!"

"It is!"

"It ain't!"

"Is!"

"Ain't!"

"Is!"

"Ain't!"

"May I suggest French fries, potato chips, and a helping of jellybeans?" Starfire suddenly interrupts.

The two arguing teens stop to stare at her.

"Star…" said Beast Boy.

"Not everything on the menu is a topping…" completes Cyborg.

"Oh…sorry, I have forgotten" She blushes and sweatdrops.

The two boys resume their argument loudly.

On the other side of the table Robin sighs in frustration. His eyes wander a bit and eventually lands on Raven, who was sitting quietly looking into space with a blank stare amidst the noise of the arguing boys. An unusual situation, as far as unusual goes regarding Raven anyway.

"Something wrong Raven?" Robin asked.

Raven breaks out of her trance to answer him. "No, its okay Robin."

"I've known you long enough to know that every time you say that there is something bothering you Raven. That and all the incidents in the Titans' past where you said that everything is -- "

"Alright, already!" says an annoyed Raven at Robin's facts.

"Well?"

"The bank, after the incident with Adonis and we were outside, I felt some kind of presence new to me."

"Did you find the source?"

"No."

"But did you sense anything evil about that presence?"

"No evil per say but I did feel something akin to…" her voice trails.

"Felt what, Raven?" asked Robin now completely curios.

"…Loneliness…"

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The southeastern docks, Jump City's more industrial area.

Here is where most the city's line of goods comes in. Almost on a daily basis, up to a hundred cargo ships, the size of skyscrapers turned on their side, come to dock carrying tons of cargo, whether it be food, office material, furniture or a century's worth of toilet paper, to feed the hungry market of the vastly growing economy of Jump City.

But it's not all regular business here.

On the southern most part of the dock, in an abandoned warehouse, two familiar hooded figures walk amongst the dusty floor through a narrow corridor the exist solely because of the high stacks of rusting aluminum cargo boxes acting as walls if anything. Though the stacks of cargo boxes make an 'avenue' every few tens of feet, the two make a straight path to the opposite end of the warehouse were a seemingly solid concrete wall rest.

The taller of the two takes out small pen-like device, points it to the wall, and presses a button

Then a seven-foot tall, six-foot wide section of the concrete lifts upward on two hydraulic arms revealing a small dimly lit compartment big enough for about four or five people. But for now two will suffice.

The two enter the compartment and open a hidden panel on the metallic wall. The push a single button out of many others. The concrete slab closes down sealing the whole compartment.

The two stand calmly unaffected as a descending motion is felt. A few moments later the door opens and the two walk out… into a vast room as wide as a football field (not American football, the international kind) and the ceiling was about three stories above the floor. Along the walls perpendicular to the wall with the elevator door the two figures exited from were an assortment of computer stations and assorted electronics, some are turned on, most others simply collecting dust. But the sight to behold was on the far opposite wall were a giant glowing computer screen surrounded be several smaller ones overlook a huge console filled with all sorts of keyboards. And in front of the gigantic computer station was a solitary chair almost ten feet high. The two figures walk towards the spot unhindered.

"So, your finally back…" came a voice from the high chair. A raspy voice one can only describe as that of one who's probably lived close to a century

"We couldn't go ahead with the break-in as planned," said the male hooded figure "there were…'constrictions'."

"Yes I know," the senior's voice said as the chair spun around to reveal the source. A very, very old man, almost complete bald save for a few white strands at the side of his head which had more wrinkles and freckles than the gods themselves would care to count. Two puffy pinkish eyes under a bushy white unibrow gives way to a nose so big and sharp it could sink ships. His colorless lips open to show rotten teeth as yellow as a hundred-year-old newspaper coupled by a chin that can piers armor. He is dressed in a simple white jumpsuit exposing two hands, which look like bones wrapped haphazardly with aged skin. "But, of course, we won't let that stop our plans won't we?"

"I would hope not," the female hooded figure states.

"Do not be upset child," the senior "this city runs rampant with criminals. Just another uncontrollable factor in our little experiment."

"Its not them that worries me much, but…"

"Oh, you mean the Teen Titans?"

Both figures nod.

"I've briefed you on them already, you two need not worry about them much."

"What is our next move now," inquires the male "Dr. Volkov?"

"Well my boy," the alleged Dr. Volkov replies "this calls for a reformatting of the plan, we can't afford to be off schedule so were gonna have to divide the task more."

"What do you mean doctor?"

"Sakura," Dr. Volkov looks to the shorter female figure "you will lead a strike on the Roscher Bank tommorow once things cool down."

"I understand." Sakura responds.

"Riya," Dr. Volkov now turns to the taller male figure "you proceed as plan on the transport tommorow as well."

"Alright." Riya complies.

"Now both of you get some rest."

Riya and Sakura both nod. Dr. Volkov nods back and turns, chair and all, back to his computer work.

The two younger also turn and make for the elevator. They enter and press a different button and the door closes. As soon as they are gone, the doctor who was now alone stares at his computer screen which showed what seemed like a graphical report on something called: "Project: Maria'. He grins, rotten yellow teeth showing.

"Soon my dear," he mummers "your power will be mine and it would be your own children who would hand me that power. Hehehehehe…"

------------------------------------------------

The elevator door opens onto a different floor which was really just a long, dimly lit hallway lined with multiple doors leading to who-knows-where. The two march forward quietly.

An intersection comes up. The taller of the two seemingly ignores it while the shorter pauses and looks down the short corridor that lead to a solitary iron door. The taller notices and stops to turn to look at his companion.

"Sakura?" he asks

She remains silent

"…You wanna see her again sis?"

"…Yeah." She responds in a low voice.

"It won't change anything yet."

"I know, I just wanna be reminded. That's all"

"…Alright." Riya makes to walk ahead leaving his sister behind.

Sakura watches him leave until he is out of sight then proceeds to the door she'd been looking at. There is a keypad lock on the door. She enters a code and opens the door.

The room was large, hardly lit, and almost bare at first glance, even in the absence of light one could tell the room was fairly huge, not as big as the were Dr. Volkov may have resided but huge nonetheless. Near what would be the center of the room is a dimly lit control panel. Sakura walks up to this panel, looks at it and pushes a button as if it were routine. Lights flickered to life overhead making the entirety of the room vivsble.

Sakura looks up to see a truly horrendous sight. A huge device rested at the center of the room connected to various assorted cables that littered the floor. Its most prominent feature was a forty foot high cylindrical tube over a dozen feet in diameter. Inside the tube was a huge skinless humanoid figure. Exposed were its muscles, innards, and skeleton were various tubes, hoses and wiring plugged into various spot all over the creatures body as it seemingly hugs with its arms of muscle and bone while it was suspended in a blood-red liquid. A contrastingly large mask of a featureless human face with empty eyeholes that seemingly stare hides the creature's face.

Sakura stares unaffected.

"…Mother."

Her hands reach up and pull back her hood exposing her delicate face filled youthful beauty. Her hair was a fair chestnut color cut short to the length of her neck. Her bangs fall over her left eye leaving only her right eye, which was a leafy green color. Then she brushed off her hair to reveal her left eye, which was an ocean blue color.

"Soon, we'll be able to meet each other," She murmurs softly, "then you, me and Riya can be a family…we can be --- " her voice trails off. Her eyes slowly begin to tear up.

Behind the oblivious girl, leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed was her brother, Riya. His hood also down exposing his youthful, boyishly handsome face and his long platinum hair tied in a ponytail. He looks at his sister with brotherly concern with an ocean blue colored left eye and a leafy green colored right eye.

Author's Note: This is my first fic ever FYI. Any reviews are appreciated. I don't wanna be flamed but constructive criticism is what I really need at the moment. If I get good reviews I may update this story if that's what you all want.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans; they are copy written by…somebody else.

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The Freeway. West of the city.

An eight lane wide road way that cuts through the dessert connecting Jump City to the rest of the state. It was early morning with the sun barely up yet so few cars darted back and forth on the normally busy road.

This morning, however, there is a peculiar convoy trucking its way down the Freeway. A huge black truck pulling along an unusual looking trailer, unusual in a sense that the bodywork is designed differently with a kind of glossy alloy acting as armor of sorts. The whole trailer completely featureless, except from an inconspicuous door at the rear.

Two black luxury sedans escort the truck, one leading the convoy the other taking up the rear. Inside the leading car the driver and his one passenger sit in black business and dark tinted glasses suits ever vigilant. Well almost.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzz"

The driver looks to his passenger whom he hadn't noticed already dosed off due to the sunglasses. He frees one hand from the wheel to give his partner a little wake-up nudge.

_wham!_

"Ooof, Hey, that hurt!"

"Well wake up already ya moron," the driver retorted, "we got a job to do."

"Jeeez," the passenger clutched his stomach "I was only restin' my eyes."

"Look we gotta stay on post, this package is real important!"

"What is this were carrying anyway?"

"Hell if I know," said the driver "but if STAR Labs wants it on a rush order it better be a helluva valuable."

"Yeah I guess…"

The two sit back and try to relax. But upon looking back on the road ahead they both find it impossible to relax.

"Ummm…what does that look like to you?" the passenger inquires.

"It looks like…" he stares harder "a bike…" he stares even harder "heading…right for us!"

On the road ahead about a quarter of a mile away was a sports bike heading westward going at about a hundred or so miles per hour on the eastbound lane. The same lane the convoy is heading east.

The rider is cloaked in an overcoat with a hood on. He looks ahead and sees the convoy coming and grins under his hood. He lets go of the handlebars letting the bike drive itself and stands up on the seat. His body is fully erect as the bike comes closer and closer to the convoy.

The leading escort didn't have enough time to react as the bike slams head-on; both persons in the car are knocked unconscious by the sheer force of the impact. The sedan, with bike stuck to the hood, swerves and grinds to a halt against the guardrails on the side of the road. Meanwhile the rider of the bike, who was standing on the seat, is propelled forward by inertia; he performs a forward somersault over the sedan…and breaks through feet first through the windshield of the truck, which shatters into pieces.

The truck driver is taken by complete surprise by the intrusion. He is knocked-out by the impact of the intruder's feet to his stomach. The intruder turns around and sits on the lap of the now unconscious truck driver to take hold of the steering wheel. He slams his foot on the brake and pulls hard on the emergency brake at the same time.

The whole truck screeches with tires smoking on the asphalt. The sudden deceleration of the truck catches the rear escort sedan off-guard and the sedan unceremoniously crashes into the rear bumper of the trailer flattening the nose of the car.

Once the two remaining vehicles have come to a full stop the intruder kicks open the driver side door to get out. More accurate it is to say that he didn't just kick the door open but rather he kicked it clear off its hinges and onto the asphalt.

The intruder jumps down into the road were thick smog has formed due to the smoke caused by the tire in the sudden brakeage. He starts walking to the rear of the trailer when out of the smoke emerge two men in business attire, presumably from the rear escort, aiming pistols.

"You! Freeze!"

"Hands to the sky! Now!"

The figure stops, then he grins at the two. The two take a nervous step back.

In the time it took the two guards to process the move in their heads, the intruder has closed the gap between them, grabs one pistol barrel in each hand, tear them off from the guards' grasp, and use them as hammers to knock both guards upside their respective noggins effectively knocking the out.

He drops the guns to the asphalt and proceeds to the back of the trailer. He reaches it and sees that the crashed sedan is blocking his way. He moves to the side of the sedan and throws a jab; the sedan is pushed sideways over a dozen feet and hits the guardrail. The figure stands seemingly unaffected and searches for the handle to the door. He finds it and pulls it.

Meanwhile in side the trailer.

"You guys ready?"

Three other figures inside the dimly lit compartment nod their heads. Four guards in business attire stand/kneel a few feet behind the door aiming pistols at the door. Behind them is another compartment separated by a wall and a small door.

"Blast em' as soon as that door opens."

The four figures tense up as clicking is heard from the door. The door springs open and the four guards open fire.

_**Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! **_

The guns eventually click to signal their emptiness. The four guards lower their weapons and crane their necks to see outside. When the smoke (from the tires outside) clears the guards see… an empty road.

They all blink in curiosity.

Suddenly from the top part of the door swings in the cloaked figure, his feet knocking the foremost guard to the back wall, knocked out. He lands on his feet as the guards try to reload their weapons in vein.

The intruder quickly palms a guard upside his chin then also kicks him off to the back wall. He then turns to another guard coming at him and pins him on the side wall with his foot to the guard's neck. The guard chokes for a bit. The intruder releases his foot and follows up with a quick but powerful jab to the stomach knocking the wind out of the guard.

The last guard, who actually manages to reload his pistol, aims at the back of the intruder and fires…missing. His eyes grow wide in surprise. The figure then appears behind him and stuns hi through the back of his neck.

All guards were now on the floor, unconscious. The intruder pulls back down his hood.

Riya now walks towards the back wall and the small door. He opens it to reveal a small, closet-like space with just a single pedestal standing four feet off the floor. On the pedestal was a glass cylinder surrounded by a metal cage. The letter 'M' emblazed on the top of the metallic casing. The liquid inside the cylinder glows an eerie purple color.

Riya smiles and grabs the item.

"One down," he says, pocketing the item away, "three more to go…"

He walks out of the trailer and into the light of the rising sun. Everything is going well in his mind. They come ever closer to their goal though still have a ways to go. But all in good time, all things will fall in their proper places. All in good time they will all meet.

------------------------------------------------

Titan's Tower. Sitting on an island a mile or so offshore.

The central headquarters for the guardians of Jump City, the Teen Titans. A marvelous engineering and technological feet. Its sturdy construction houses the most advance in technologies, mechanical engineering, and innovations developed by man. All of which are protected by the most rugged defense systems both physical and digital.

A towering fortress standing an ever vigilant sentry over the fair city

"Dude, I'm gonna getcha this time!"

"Oh no you ain't!"

"I gotcha, I gotcha!"

"Not gonna happen!"

In the living room, Beast boy and Cyborg compete with each other in their tow thousand seven hundred and eighty-fifth session Super Ninja Fury on the Game Station. Two animated ninjas battle each on the on the giant screen the Titans have always used for general purposes. Eventually the one of the ninjas fall to the floor and the screen reads "Player 2 wins!"

"YEESSSSS!" Beast Boy cries out in jubilation

"Oh man…" groans Cyborg

The door to the room opens revealing the remaining teens. They enter in time to see Beast Boy dancing with sparkles in his eye and a sorrowful Cyborg sitting on the couch with a small thunder cloud over his head.

"Whoa, there you two are," inquires Robin, "what's the occasion?"

"Dude, I finally beat Cy in Super Ninja Fury!" exclaims the green changeling

"You two are part of one of the most respected superhero teams on the planet and the first thing you do every morning is play video games…?" Raven drones in one single tone.

"You got any better suggestions Rea?"

"How about breakfast."

"HA! Gotcha there Rea, this has everything to do with breakfast!"

"Ummm…huh?"

"Cy made a bet with me that whoever won this game would be the guy to make breakfast today." Beast Boy said matter-of-factly. "Tofu waffles for everyone!"

Robin makes a face expressing distaste while Raven bares her teeth.

"Whaaaaat…?" asked Raven.

"Hey, don't look at me," Beast Boy raises his palms out in defense then points to the mopping Cyborg on the couch, "the bet was his idea."

Raven glares at Cyborg from behind. Cyborg shivers uncontrollably for a few seconds.

"Oh does friend Beast Boy mean his recipe of white square pastries with a taste akin to that of my home world's flaberk-jaggs?" Starfire inquires.

"You bet Star!"

"Oh Glorious!"

"Cyborg, you are so deceased." Ravens eyes stare daggers into the back of Cyborg's neck.

Cyborg sinks lower in his seat.

------------------------------------------------

The Roscher Bank.

Now with fully reconstructed front entrance. Business is as usual prior to the incident with Adonis just yesterday. Fortunately for the owners of the bank only the entrance itself need to be repaired. Adonis wasn't able to gain entry or simply didn't bother with the Bank's vault, which contained the two most important chambers and that was the cash vault, a must have for all banks in general, and the Deposit safe room.

The Deposit safe room was on of the more famous services offered by the Roscher Bank. Simply put, it was a vault to store things other than money, things clients of the bank consider too important or precious to even trust themselves with, often valuable jewelry or precious gems. The bank allows for anyone to store there absolutely anything without question as long as the client can pay the deposit charge.

It was this Deposit safe room that was the focal point of interest to a bunch of not-so-average visitors of the Bank this morning.

Bellow ground on the second basement level, inside a storage room, on the concrete floor, the floor starts to bubble. At first only in a small spot, then that spot begins to smoke and grow. Eventually, a ten foot section of the floor starts to smoke and bubble. Then from the center, corrodes away and falls downward to an oblivion. Some moments later the floor has a fresh new hole in it. From that hole leaps out an over coated figure like a bat out of hell.

The figure lands on one knee and surveys the area. The figure seems satisfied and calls out to the hole.

"It's clear."

A top portion of a ladder appears and leans on the edge of the hole. Three men, dressed as spooks (the typical combat attire of military Special Forces which covers the entire body, designed for covert ops.), climb up, some carrying empty duffel bags. One of them spoke up

"Woooofff, damn that smell, ugh…" he coughs a bit

"Hyper concentrated sulphuric acid would do that," responds the hooded figure, in a female voice, "now get to work and unlock that door." she points to the double doors on the far wall.

the spooks nods, one walks over to the door and takes out a lock picking kit. He professionally picks the lock and moments later a 'click' is heard from the door

"Its open." The spook at the door says

"Alright!" exclaims the spook who spoke earlier, but not too loud as to be louder than a whisper.

"Good," said the coated figure "now all of you back down."

"Huh? Aren't we to break in the vault, why are we going back down there?" inquired the last spook who had yet to talk.

The figure stares at the spook "Didn't you pay attention to the briefing?"

"Um…not much. Just on the 'take all the money you can' part."

The figure glares under her hood.

The spook simpers nervously "Um, but I think I remember the plan now, break in through the front entrance, right?

The figure comes closer to him, "Yes, that's right."

"But why? We'll have less of a hassle breaking in from here."

"I gave you the reason already for that." She inches ever closer to him "but if you think you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it now."

"Um…no I'm good," he simpers very nervously.

"That's good. Now all of you, move!"

The three went down the hole again without arguing leaving the hooded figure alone for a few moments in thought.

She knew the plan was a fine plan. 1) break into the basement storage to make an escape route to the sewers. 2) break in the front entrance then hold up the place. 3) escape down the basement, and into the sewers. The plan was efficient. Making the escape route first guaranteed a quick retreat, as it is also completely unexpected. Making the whole thing look like a normal bank robbery also diverted attention from the true target.

The figure scowls at the thought. She would have preferred very much to work alone and take the target by herself or, at the least, with her brother. But the _Doctor's _logic was flawless. Making this look like an average robbery would divert suspicions and buy time for them. Hiring thugs off the street who didn't know better only heightened the illusion She had no choice in the matter. She would just have to wait a little longer. Wait to meet _her._

Her eyes start to tear up.

She stops her train of thought and shakes off the feeling to follow her henchmen down the sewers. Everything would go as planned, even if _they_ show up it would be of little obstacle to her. She will succeed, no matter what.

------------------------------------------------

Back at Titan's Tower

"What a most scrumptious morning feast it was that Beast Boy has prepared," Starfire, cheerful as ever, walks along side Robin in one of the many halls that make up the tower's innards. "I cannot fathom why you did not desire for the second helpings."

"Star, you should try to remember not all of us can drink molten rock and survive like you can." The Boy Wonder responds looking sick, his face carrying a hint of purple.

"But Robin, today's breakfast was neither heated to a liquid state nor did it have terran mineral properties."

"Um…never mind Star."

"By the way Robin, have you seen dear Raven around?"

"Not since breakfast, Why?

"She has seemed…preoccupied as of late. When I asked her of what ills her she simple responds that 'she needs to look up something'."

"Hmmm…" Robin ponders for a second "It must be something that has to do with what she felt at the incident with Adonis yesterday."

"What do you mean Robin." Starfire now looks inquisitively into Robin.

"I'm not so sure," he says returning her stare with his own "but I did tell her to notify me if she found out anything new."

"And I have."

Robin and Star simultaneously screech and jump back with bug eyes in shock at the sudden dialog of Raven who was simply, stoically, standing in the middle of the hall in front of the two aforementioned teens.

"Aaaahh… good morning friend Raven," Starfire blurts out nervously "what presents you before us this fine hour"

"Well, like Robin said, if I felt anything new like I did yesterday…"

"And have you?" asks Robin

Raven nods "I felt the same presence again while I was meditating this morning after breakfast, only a bit weaker than before and a bit more distant."

"Can you identify exactly who this presence is Raven."

Raven shakes her head "My emphatic powers can only detect emotion and feelings around a person's aura. I can't identify people that way."

"Tell me friend Raven," speaks up Starfire. "What is it about this presence that you have been sensing that would be a subject of concern?"

"Star, I pass by people on an everyday basis. I get a constant input of human emotion to my system but this has gotten so trivial that it no longer bears any significance to me. But what I felt yesterday and this morning was disturbing to me 'cause…"

"Because of what…?" Starfire inquires, her hands clasped together in front of her chest, a look of worry on her face. Beside her, Robin's mask narrows.

"These emotions were stronger than normal," The dark girl continues "not just in a sense that they are more intense, but also they are…amplified."

"Amplified? By what?" Robin speaks up again

"Whoever owns this presence has a very powerful aura. Which is probably why I could feel it so intensely even from a distance with my powers."

"The problem only being that since we don't know who or where this person is, we can't trust him or whatever powers he posses and for me, that's a good reason, if any, to be a little worried." Robin places his hand on his chin, deep in thought.

A silence passes by.

"Well you need not be too worried Robin," Starfire speaks in a lighter tone trying lift the gloomy mood, "for all we can infer this person may be that of the heroic ilk as we are if he or she truly posses such prowess."

Robin and Raven look at her. Robin was the first to speak up again.

"Well…I guess I can afford to be a little optimistic 'eh Star." His lips curve.

Starfire smiles, glad she got to do the same to Robin. But Raven on the other hand stares blankly into space as if in deep thought.

The three are interrupted suddenly as loud alarms were buzzing and bright red lights began flashing all over the hall the were in.

"An alarm!" Robin declared "c'mon, to the main room!" He runs off. The two girls follow suit.

------------------------------------------------

The main room of Titan's Tower. Generally used as a living room, a computer room, and a rec room for most times of the day. But with alarms buzzing and flashing this room is, for all intensive purposes, a briefing and control room. Used to manage whatever crisis is at hand.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were already present in the room when Robin, Starfire, and Raven showed up.

"Report!" blurted out Robin.

"Dude, its déjà vu'" responded Beast Boy.

"You'd think the place was tunin' into a fad or somthin'" concurs Cyborg.

Robin raises an eyebrow. He looks at the giant monitor which showed a digital map of a section of the city where one particular block was blinking red. The Roscher Bank.

"Is that not the same facility we have liberated just the previous day?" asked Starfire

"It would appear so Starfire," answers Raven.

"Such is an odd coincidence as it would seem."

"Coincidence or not we've got work to do," declares Robin in his ever heroic tone of voice.

The rest of the team looks at him smiling slightly as if they knew (and they did ) what he was about to say next.

"TITANS, GO!"

------------------------------------------------

"This is the last time I ever listen to my mom for job reccomendations." A teller mumbles from under her desk where she was hiding. While behind her in the main lobby…

"All right, none of you people move or I blow you a new one!" Three men dressed up as spooks hold up submachine in the air for all to see and fear. Some of the people who were in the bank earlier had already manage to escape. Those that remained hid behind random furniture for cover.

Aside from the three gun totting men, a coated figure makes her way to a large circular, solid steel door with multiple dials. The vault door. In her hand is a strange looking device one can only describe as a water gun. She aims the device at the door and pulls the trigger. A liquid that looks like water gushes out and lands on the vault door, right on the dials.

At first the water seems to do nothing. Then it is soon revealed that the liquid is the farthest thing from water. The area of the dials starts to melt slowly then quickly. A fresh hole is created the figure aims her water gun again and launches what's left of the liquid into the inner working of the door, melting them.

Clicks and clanks are heard as the vault door disintegrates from the inside. The figure tosses aside her 'weapon' and walks up to the door, grabs the handle, and effortlessly pulls it open. The very large safe room is revealed with its rows of deposit boxes on the parallel side walls and shelves of freshly printed cash on the center and back wall of the room.

She signals to her compatriots with a hand and they eagerly comply, dragging along a bunch of empty duffel bags. The covered figure stand stoically guarding the entrance to the safe, so far so good.

"All of you freeze!"

The four from the vault look to the entrance to see the Teen Titans in their usual super heroic pose: Robin front and center, Beast Boy and Cyborg on ether side just behind him, Raven and Starfire floating behind them. Many civilians hiding take a peek and their faces light up immediately.

The three men looting the vault freeze and shake nervously but the hooded figure remained so ever unaffected as Robin continued.

"Criminals like you have no shame huh," Robin glares at the bunch of robbers "you rob from a place that just got robbed yesterday, you are low beyond compare."

Robin strikes a pose, his teammates follow suite.

"Well we're the Teen Titans here to put and end to your little charade and bring all of you at the mercy of jus --- !"

"Shut up."

Robin freezes in mid speech his face dumbfounded. His teammates have a similar expression. All eyes focus on the hooded figure.

"Huh…?" Robin unconsciously blurts out

"I said shut up," said the hooded figure "you're annoying the hell out of me."

Robin starts again. "Who do you thin --- ?"

"Stay out of this hero boy," she interrupts Robin yet again "this is none of your business." She slowly turns back to the vault ignoring the teens altogether.

Robin makes a last attempt "Look here yo--- !"

"I gave you my warning," the figure says over her shoulder back at the boy wonder. Her back to the Titans.

Robin is now fuming, his ego completely struck down. "I don't know who people are but you guys are criminals. And you're going down one way or another!" He strike a fighting pose

"Yeah, you can't talk to us like that," said Beast Boy bearing fangs

"You shall pay for your mockery of justice!" concurs Starfire preparing starbolts

"Y'all are goin' down!" joins in Cyborg trans forming an arm to his sonic cannon.

Raven says nothing but visibly tenses up, her dark aura increasing.

The figure looks over her shoulder. She turn back to her henchmen and simply orders: "Stick to the plan, no matter what." She then makes a one-eighty and looks at the Titans dead on. And slowly walks towards them.

"Fine, then

As she walks, she unbuckles her over coat and sheds it completely to reveal herself.

She was a model of young teen beauty and from her slender legs to her curvaceous body up to her petite chest and slender arms to her smooth neck, face and her short chestnut hair. Typical 'girl-next-door' features.

Her attire only complemented yet somehow also contrasted this. She wore thick combat shoes for her feet. For her legs, shoe wore black, tight fitting, low-waist, bell bottom pants with laces on the outside ankles. Over that was a free hanging fabric attached to her utility belt that was knee length and covered the side of her thighs and her behind acting more or less like a long skirt without a front. On her thick leather, utility belt were two holsters on ether side both carried combat knives. For her top she wore a small, black, tight fitting, sleeveless, turtle-neck shirt that exposed her naval. Her arms were bear except for two thick, black, leather gloves.

One could easily take note that her eyes were of different colors. Each. Her left blue, the other green. The Titans stare curiously at her not recognizing her from memory.

"Lets do this your way hero boy…"

She is about twenty feet from the Titans when she stops. She cracks her knuckles and stretches her neck and stands still for a moment. The air stays tense. The Titans keep their stances, ready for anything. Though not nearly everything.

The girl takes a step. And, in the blink of an eye, closes the distance between her and Robin. A look of shock is plastered to Robins face and he is not able to react fast enough as the girl palms his chest and shoves him clear across the lobby and out the front door.

"Augh!"

The girl stands in Robin's place. She wastes no time as she crouches low and sweep kicks Beast Boy, hooking him to her feet, into Cyborg and throws them both out following Robin.

"Yargh!" "Oof!"

She resumes the crouching position and jumps up to Raven and Starfire's level. The to heroines are in too much surprise to make any form of reaction as the girl grabs each an arm and spins the two around her with great strength and tosses them out of the door as well.

"Aahh!" "Dah!"

She drops back to the ground unscathed. She looks behind her to see random people stare in shock and fear. She focuses on her three henchmen and gave them a stare that seem to repeat her last order. The three seem to confirm with their nervous eyes. She turns her head back and walks out the front door to face her foes.

------------------------------------------------

The street in front of the bank had been cleared by police some minutes ago. Police cars and barricades blocked both ends of the street leaving the general area in front of the bank bear except for a parked T-car just to the side. The police had decided, when the Titans arrived, that the quickest way to resolve this situation was to let the Titans handle it.

Imagine their surprise when the five teenage superheroes came crashing out the entrance unceremoniously sprawling all over the pavement.

The Titans lie in a small spread in the middle of the road rubbing soar spots. The girl responsible for their grief casually walks out.

"Had enough?" said the girl, smiling, more as a challenge rather than an inquiry.

Starfire was the first to act.

"Aaghh!" she takes flight dives for the girl. The girl jumps backwards avoiding Starfire as she collides with the ground shooting up dust. The dust settles as Starfire looks for her target…which she saw charging at her with a fist. The girl hooks Starfire in the face, quickly follows up with a jab to the stomach and a finishes with a round house kick to the chest. Starfire flies back to the pavement.

Beast Boy gets up just in time to catch the tamaranian in his arms and fall back down.

"Whoa --- oof!"

Cyborg gets up as well and retaliates with a blast from his sonic cannon. The girl effortlessly evades as Cyborg gets more shots out. The girl weaves in between every shot while getting closer to Cyborg's position eventually coming face-to-face. She quickly grabs his cannon arm and flips over her figure, showing incredible strength, and slams teen back down on the road.

Beast Boy, now recovered, charges at the girl in rhino form. The girl brings her arms up and, amazingly, stops the charging changeling in his hooves. She grabs his horn and lifts the huge rhino and tosses him back in the direction he came from. Beast Boy transforms back to elf form in mid air and flails his arms.

"Ya-aa-aa-aahh!"

Meanwhile, Raven stands up and chants her famous magic words

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos."

Bolts of black energy stem from Raven's body grabbing a lamppost, a mailbox, and a dumpster then hurls them at the girl. The girl smirks. The all three object meet in one spot and a cloud of dust, trash, and letter envelopes, explodes. The dust settle and all that Raven sees is a wreckage of twisted metal. Then from behind her…

"You missed."

Raven's eyes bulged. Her arms are grabbed then she is hurled to a recovering Cyborg and both fly onto the hood of the parked T-car knocking the two out and making a pretty huge dent in the hood at the same time.

The girl stands stoically. She hears a swishing sound in the air She raises her arm and, without looking, grabs three birdarangs in mid-flight. She looks in the direction of the projectiles to see Robin standing in a follow-through position.

"Back down," said the girl "you're not gonna win this."

"I'm not famous for my pension for quitting ya know," retorted Robin. He reaches behind him and takes out his bo staff fully extended and charges the girl.

The girl throws the birdarangs she grabbed earlier back at Robin. The boy wonder twirls his bo staff deflecting the incoming projectiles. He continues to charge, bo staff swinging down.

The girl takes her combat knives from their holsters, one in each hand. She blocks the down swing from Robin's staff. Robin takes a few more swings while she dodges and blocks all of them. Then the girl attacks with both knives swinging down. Robin raises his bo staff horizontally and blocks the attack. The two are locked with each other, the girl pushing down with Robin pushing up.

"Who are you?" Robin asked, struggling

"I don't have a name to give you," she smiles slightly "but for the sake of courtesy, you can call me… Lithium…"

In a move too fast for Robin to see, Lithium sweep kicks Robin from under his feet. The moment the boy wonder is airborne she delivers another kick to his chest sending him a few feet away.

Though he lands on his back, Robin recovers quickly. He gets up again, bo staff ready Lithium grins and readies herself.

------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile in the bank vault.

One of the spooks stand guard at the door while the others continue looting. One of the looters is simple stuffing duffel bags with cash and assorted jewelry and precious stones, while the other seems to be looking for something in particular.

"Man what a haul!" commented the one stuffing "You sure we can have all this to ourselves?"

"You really didn't listen to the plan did you?" said the one "The boss said we can take whatever we want from here. All she wants is…"

He opens a deposit box. Inside, he found what he was looking for. He grabs it and holds it up.

"…this!"

The one stuffing pauses for a moment to look at what his partner was holding up. It looked like nothing more than an oversized thermos bottle. The letter 'M' emblazed on the bottom part.

"What, that's all she wants?"

"Yup."

"What is it?"

"No clue…"

"You think it's worth a lot."

"Probably."

"…You think we should look inside?"

"The boss wants this thing as is, and I, for one, ain't gonna argue with her after seeing what she can do!"

"Uhhh…right."

------------------------------------------------

Outside again.

Starfire Flies head-on at Lithium with Cyborg right behind her. Lithium jumps over Starfire landing a foot on her back forcing her to the ground. Lithium jumps off Starfire, and punches the charging Cyborg in the face driving him back.

"Agh!" "oof!"

Beast Boy comes running up and transforms into a bull charging at the girl. Lithium sees this then hops into the air, flips around, and lands saddled to Beast Boy's bovine shoulder. She grabs his horns and pulls like crazy, The enraged animorph bucks and kicks wildly. Lithium stands on his neck and drives Beast Boy to the ground with her feet and flips off of him. Beast Boy turns back into an elf rubbing his temple

"Ooooh… my head!"

Raven floats up and blasts streams of black energy at Lithium who flips every which way in evasion. She is seemingly Oblivious to a Robin dashing at her from behind with his bo staff. But she does know, ducking real low as Robin swings his staff horizontally at where her torso would have been.

Lithium makes a one-eighty and stands up. She grabs Robin's shoulders and rolls backwards forcing Robin to go up over her and, with her feet, kicks robin off of her into the Floating Raven. Both teens land on the ground hard.

"Aaugh!" "Aaahkk!"

Lithium stands up. Her foes attempt to do the same. The all get into fighting stances. Then suddenly a ringing is heard from Lithium's person. She puts a hand in one of the pocket of her utility belt and produces a cellphone that's been ringing. She answers the caller.

"Yeah?"

"…"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"…"

"You got it?" her face lights up a bit

"…"

"Alright."

She hangs up and places a call of her own to the Titans' ever increasing curiosity

------------------------------------------------

Inside the vault, one of the spooks answers a ringing cellphone.

"Hello?"

"…"

"Yes, we've got it."

"…"

"Yes ma'am" He pockets away his phone and calls the attention of his colleges.

"Yo, the boss says we bail , now!"

The two others nod in affirmation. The two in the vault grab about three heavily loaded duffel bags each and follow the one who was guarding the door to the back of the lobby were a maintenance door leading to the basement levels reside.

"Once were down there, were home free."

------------------------------------------------

Lithium hangs up her call and pockets away her phone. And faces the Titans who are still in their tense stances.

"Pardon me, but my time is up. I have to get going now." Lithium takes a more relaxed stance.

"No way!" objects Robin "we're not done here!"

"Sorry…" she reaches to her utility belt, "Maybe another time, hero boy"

Lithium throws something into the air. It looked like a small black canister the size of a lighter. Everyone's sight naturally follows it while Lithium ducks down low.

Suddenly the canister explodes in an extremely bright flash that blind everyone momentarily. The Titans rub their eyes and blink repeatedly. But by the time they could see properly again, Lithium was gone.

Authors note: I didn't get any reviews for the last chapter but it's cool. I've decided to finish this story anyways so wait for the next update in a few days or so.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans nor will I ever in any conceivable future.

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Nighttime in Jump City.

In the wake of the second incident, following Adonis, involving the still unknown criminal, Lithium, police have closed off the Roscher Bank for investigation.

To sum up the findings of the police investigations, the robbers entered the bank in the same manner that most robberies have been done for the most part of the history of bank robberies: Through the front door. After that the criminals escaped into a freshly made hole in the lower level basement storage room that lead to the sewer. Police said that the robbers probably used some kind of highly concentrated acid based on the evidence.

After that the robbers' trail goes cold as it is practically impossible to trace them through the city sewer system. The robbers manage to get away with over two point five million dollars in cash and an estimated one million dollars worth in jewelry and precious stones. It was a very well crafted plan that no-one saw coming and managed to stump Jump Cities finest as well as the Teen Titans.

Speaking of which.

The Titans have retreated back to their headquarters, Titan's Tower. The team is gathered in the main room for more or less their equivalent of a debriefing. Cyborg was on the couch working on the computer, Robin was standing just behind him. On the bar on the right side of the room was Beast Boy and Starfire, the former stuffing his face with potato chips from a very large bag and sitting on a stool while the latter simply leans on the bar patiently. Raven was in a lotus position seated on the carpeted lounge area to the left side of the room.

"Must you eat so loudly?" Raven inquires in Beast Boy's general direction, "it's really annoying"

"Sorry Rea…" said Beast Boy with a mouthful of chips, "We got our butts handed to us by some strange girl today and snacking is the only way I can relax."

He stuffs more chips into his mouth.

"Besides Rea, you ought to try relaxing too," Beast Boy suggested, "why don't you try meditatin' or something?"

"What do you think I was trying to do before I started talking to you?" a vein on Raven's head pulses.

"…oh…ehehe…" Beast Boy simpers and sweatdrops.

Finally a beep comes from the giant computer screen in the center of the room. In it there is a big, black and red message saying 'No search results found'. An evidently frustrated Cyborg groans in disapproval.

"That's it," he says "there's nothin' on her out there."

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Robin out of the blue "did you check the entire database? What about outside ---?"

"Yes, Robin I checked everywhere."

"How about JCPD?"

"Yes."

"GCPD?"

"Yes!"

"Metropol---?"

"YES! I checked everywhere already!"

Robin, along with the rest of the team cringes as Cyborg continues.

"Man, I've been through police record from here to Guatemala, plus FBI, CIA, Interpol, NSA, she's on nobody's records, dawg! For all we know she could have just fell out of the sky!"

"Bummer, dude," comments Beast Boy.

"So, we are, as it is said, 'returned to the square one'?" inquires Starfire.

"Basically…" answers Raven.

Robin sighs. It would seem the girl who calls herself Lithium is completely out of the radar. No records of her exist on any database the Titan's can access. Robin always hated to have to face something he doesn't know a thing about. Probably a trait he picked from Batman, he figured.

"So where are goin' with this now?" asked Cyborg

"We're just gonna have to wait for her to show herself again," said Robin "that's all we can do, I'm afraid."

"Aw man!" groans Beast Boy, "I hate waiting."

"Um…Robin," called out Starfire, "May I inquire as to the other case that took place in the stretch of roadway located many miles west of our city?"

"Oh yeah, somethin' else did happen out there this mornin' right?" inquires the now curios Beast Boy. Raven suddenly gives her full attention to the conversation.

"I checked that out already," said Cyborg "we got zippo on that case too. From the report submitted by the security firm on duty at the time, the dude was in an over-coat with a hood so nobody could ID the guy. Also they said he had superhuman strength and speed. He plowed a bike head-on at the first car, broke into the trucks windshield, and beat the crap outta everyone there without getting' a scratch. Whoever this dude is, his got skills, dawg."

"Hmmm…just like that Lithium girl form the bank?" asked Robin

"…pretty much."

"Could it be possible, friends," inquires Starfire "that the person from the road and the girl who calls herself Lithium are some manner related…?"

There is a short silence as everyone seems to ponder.

"It's very possible." Raven breaks the silence.

Everyone now turns their attention to the dark girl.

"Wh-what do you mean, Rea?" asked Beast Boy.

Raven gets up from her seated position and stands up. She takes a breaths and gathers her thoughts. Her teammates waiting patiently to hear her speak.

"Remember that I said that I recently sensed something that didn't sit well with me? Yesterday and early this morning?"

The team collectively nods.

"Well…" Raven continues "that Lithium girl, her aura, it was the same aura as I got from this morning, the same time as the hijacking on the Freeway. As well as that time just after Adonis."

The rest of the group collectively raises an eyebrow to show a whole lot of curiosity.

"So…" intervenes Robin "these two characters have a lot in common, huh?

Raven nods and continues.

"From what we've seen, both show a strength, speed, and agility many times greater than any average human. Both also have a very strong spiritual aura about them which only amplifies whatever abilities they already have."

A longer period of silence as the group ponders harder.

"Well," Robin breaks the silence now, "we're not gonna accomplish anything with so very little to work with at the moment."

"So now what? groaned Beast Boy as he nearly finishes his bag of chips, tired of all the pondering.

"We do what all the great superheroes do at times like this." Robin starts to walk off.

"What's that dude?"

"Get some sleep. It's already late."

------------------------------------------------

"Excellent work you two."

In a humongous subterranean room three figures stand in the dim light, Riya (still in his coat), Sakura and Dr. Volkov. The doctor holds two glass cylindrical objects in his hand. Both of them contain a eerily glowing purple liquid of sorts.

"Did we really get the ones we need?" asked Sakura

"Let's see to make sure then," the doctor answers her. He moves to a desk to the side of his gigantic computer cluttered with weird looking contraptions of yet unknown purposes. Dr. Volkov moves a few of them out of the way to reveal something that looked liked an oversized food processor. He opens the device and puts one of the cylinders he was holding inside. He pushes a button on the side and turns to the computer terminal. He enters a few commands on the keyboard. The screen pops up a message that read 'match'.

"Good," said the doctor

He goes to the device again. He then replaces the cylinder inside with the one he was still holding. He performs the same procedure as before. The computer screen yields the same message: 'match'

"Very good," said Dr. Volkov as he turned from his terminal and looks to the two teens. "you two have done excellent work indeed."

"What now then?" asked Riya, "Don't we need two more segments of the sequence?"

"No, we already have all four segments needed to complete the sequence."

"So we're ready to start the experiment," Sakura inquires excitedly.

"I'm afraid not yet child…"

"But you said---" Sakura's smile fades and her face lowers. Her brother looking concerned

"We need more than just the four segments. We need the catalyst as well. Not to mention the…proper equipment."

"What else is there?" her face takes on anger.

"We can't rush these thi---"

"What else do we need?" her face now borders on rage

"Calm yourself child."

"What do I have to DO?" she nearly charges Dr. Volkov were it not for Riya who grabbed her elbow.

"Cool it sis!" Riya exclaims.

Sakura turns to her brother with extra misted eyes. Riya stares back with authority and a little bit of concern. Sakura finally cools down and Riya lets go her arm.

"I just want…" Sakura mumbles in a slightly shaky voice.

"It's what we all want sis." Responds her brother.

"Riya is right child," Dr. Volkov speaks up, "We will get nowhere by rushing everything. Please remember that we are all wanting to achieve the same goal here."

"What is it that you want out of this Doctor?" Sakura inquires, her tone serious.

"I've told you already child, I'm a scientist and as such I only seek knowledge. This experiment, for me, is just to prove that God is not the only one who can create life and grant power. You two should know this first hand.

The facial expression on the two teens seem to indicate that the cannot disagree as it is completely true.

"And beside," the doctor continues, "Like you two, I believe in fate. Your mother must be resurrected for this to be true and you two must stand by her side for your destinies to be fulfilled."

Dr. Volkov stands from his chair and walks to the two younger and plants his hands on their shoulders as if to reassure them of something.

"If I did not believe this, I would never have taken part in this project nor would I ever have stuck by you this far."

Riya and Sakura are seemingly mesmerized.

"Believe me when I say Maria will rise again…"

------------------------------------------------

Riya and Sakura are walking down the same hall as they did the previous time.

They had left Dr. Volkov to his own devices and are now on their way to their rooms to retire for the evening. Still an uncomfortable silence lingers between the two, probably a sort of drift resulting from the earlier incident. Riya decides to address the situation.

"Sakura, you were way out of line up there." Riya speaks calmly without looking at his sister.

Sakura frowns.

"You shouldn't have acted out like that."

She fumes

"Your too moody, you need to control your---"

"Why the hell are you taking his side?" Sakura suddenly exclaims, stopping in her tracks, glaring at Riya from behind. Riya stops and turns to face his angered sister.

"I'm not taking his side." He retorts, "I simply know that this isn't exactly the right time for theatrics! And I can agree to what the doc said about not rushing things."

"He's practically insane!"

"He's also the only one capable of completing the experiment. Without him, we'd be nowhere, just like before."

"Don't you care about mother anymore?"

"What? How could you say that?"

"Your always holding me back, telling me to sit and wait. Well I'm tired of sitting and waiting! She is our mother for heaven's sake, how could you not care for her?"

"Sakura…!"

"Are you still fighting for her? Do you still want to meet her? Riya, you stupid basta---!"

**_SLAP_**

Sakura's face is unceremoniously turned almost ninety degrees to one side from the impromptu slap given to her by her brother. She reels her head back, a hand coming up to her now red cheek, a look of pure shock on her face. Riya glares back at her, his calm exterior gone.

"Don't you ever say that!" he exclaims.

"…Riya?" Sakura manages to mumble out.

"Don't ever say I don't care about mother."

Sakura is silent. Riya's face takes on an expression of sadness as he continues.

"…I…never knew anything about my existence, my purpose in this world, until I was told about mother. I was told I was born from her blood, her essence. I am my mother's essence…but that doesn't tell me of what I really am. I'm still lost, still hopeless, like there is some gaping hole somewhere inside me I can't fill. But… I know…. she can tell me. She can tell me everything. I want to meet her Sakura. I would give anything to meet her. I---"

His face tilts down some. A tear or two falls to the ground. Sakura sees this.

"…brother?" She whispers.

"I want to see her so badly I could rip my heart out."

Sakura's eyes tear up a bit. She couldn't find it in herself to condemn him for what she knew she herself felt deep in her gut. Her mother, their mother, is their only hope now, their only salvation. Their only one true purpose left to pursue. How could she ever have accused her own brother, who has looked after her for all this time, to think otherwise?

Truth be told, she couldn't. It was a selfish thing to do and she hated herself for it. A couple of tears fall down her cheeks. Riya notices and looks up.

"…sis?" He inquires her.

Sakura does not respond verbally. But instead, she walks forward and wraps her arms around her brother, laying her head on his shoulder, sobbing quietly.

Riya is somewhat taken by surprise. But eventually he is compelled to return a hug, bringing his arms around her and resting his head on hers.

The two stood there unmoving for a good long time.

------------------------------------------------

A little earlier that night.

The northern district of the city.

The more luxurious part of town. Streets lined with expensive five-star hotels, condominiums, and luxury apartment buildings. The more well-off citizens of Jump City reside here. But our focus is on one particular building.

The Skyline Tower Apartment. A series of three, thirty-story buildings. One of the most expensive, but at the same time, luxurious spaces you can hope to afford in this part of town. What with two-hundred square feet worth of living space, usually only the elite of the city can pay to stay. But there are a few who posses no status among the society but still can afford to stay here. And it is one of this few that we focus on now.

Inside a wide living room decked out in classic furniture sits an elderly man on a couch beside a fireplace, watching the evening news on a contrastingly high-tech looking flat screen. He bears the typical features associated with seniority. Thick white hair, beard, and mustache. Wrinkled old skin covered in goose bumps. He wears an old looking turtleneck sweater and linen pants complimented by fluffy, blue bed slippers.

He watches the news intently, oblivious to everything. The anchorwoman delivers the news.

"In today's news. The Roscher bank management has formally announced that they will be out of business for an indefinite amount of time. Their reason: to install higher level security systems and to hire more staff to replace the great number of workers that resigned following the incident. Needless to say they'll be closed for quite a while.

"This said incident involved four bank robbers whose identities have yet to be revealed. The four individuals consisted of three masked men and a young woman as seen here in this photo taken by a security camera."

The picture on the screen shows a teenage girl dressed in black along with three spooks behind her in the vicinity of the vault..

"The girl is reportedly to posses metahuman abilities which allowed her fend of the Teen Titans, who were present at the scene in an attempt to stop the robbery, in a spectacular battle that took place out on the street in front of many people and police officers."

The view switches to a man with a mullet out on the street speaking into a mike.

"Man, I saw it all! That girl was all over them Titans man! Nobody, n' I mean nobody, saw it comin' man! She was flippin' around, punchin, kickin, and throwin' dem Titans everywhich way---!"

The view switches to a rather big-boned woman, also speaking into a mike.

"She must have had some kind of super power or something. I mean, she beat all five of 'em down in like what, three minutes?"

The view switches to a police officer speaking into a mike as well.

"We totally underestimated that girl. Which is probably why we couldn't get her."

The view switches back to the news room and the anchorwoman.

"Police are still trying to identify the mysterious girl who witnesses have reported goes by the alias 'Lithium' as well as her three masked companions who managed to get away with roughly three million dollars worth in cash and jewels. Police are asking that if anyone out there has any in formation regarding the wanted criminals, please report to the local police precinct nearest to you."

The view now switches to an anchorman, with the picture in the corner of the screen showing a bird's eye view of a wrecked truck and a couple of beat-up sedans in the middle of the freeway. The anchorman delivers.

"And in a seemingly unrelated incident also happening early this morning at the freeway west of the city. A convoy was attacked by a lone individual also said to posses metahuman attributes. The security firm who were present at the scene suffered many bruises and a few fractured bones but none were fatally wounded fortunately."

The screen shows the shot from a helicopter as men in suits are taken away by medics with stretchers into waiting ambulances by the road. Some of the injured men seem to be groveling in pain.

"The perpetrator is reported to have stolen just one item. The nature of this item is unknown but we do know that it was being delivered to STAR Labs at the time. Currently, STAR Labs has refused to issue a statement involving the stolen item, the robbery, or a possible relationship between this incident and the one the one on the Roscher bank. Police say that there is currently no evidence supporting a relationship between the two incidents but have openly admitted that there are some similarities between the two cases, specifically of the two individuals possessing superhuman abilities."

The view now shows both anchors in a wide shot. The anchorwoman speaks for them both.

"And that wraps up this news hour. Join us again at the same time tomorrow night when we---"

She is cut off as the TV is turned off. The old man on the couch is holding up the remote control. He puts it down on the coffee table in front of him. He brings his hands to his chin, pondering. He takes a deep breath, looks up into empty space in deep thought.

He gets up from his seat and walks to a drawer at one end of the room. He opens a top drawer and takes out a framed picture. In the picture were several men in white lab coats, posing in a formal fashion all with pride written on their faces. The old man looks at the picture intently. He looks at a person to the right of the picture who looks exactly like himself. He turns away from his own image and looks at the person next to him. A man he instantly recognized, for he could never forget.

"Volkov you fool," He says into the empty atmosphere "what the hell are you up to?"

Author's note: Sorry if you were expecting some action and didn't get any. But I assure you there will be plenty of it in Chap 4. I'll upload that in a few days. Pleas R&R


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Do I own the Teen Titans? NO! I also don't own the 'Garland' location. I'm just borrowing it from Namco.

Author's note: FINALLY someone gave me a review! A positive one too. Many thanks to that person who took the time to give me an opinion! Well, on with this fic. Sorry for the late update. I had a lot of schoolwork getting in the way.

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Morning the next day.

The dawn breaks as the sun rises over Titans Tower. The glass west face of the structure glistens in the morning light while the east face is shaded as it looks over the city as it comes to life with its citizens congregating in the early morning rush hour. Meanwhile, inside the tower things are going a slower pace.

Raven is seated in her usual place at the lounge area of the main room, meditating. Seated in a lotus position, eyes closed, her body floating just a few feet off the ground, humming slowly her infamous chant.

"Azerath…Metrion…Zinthos…"

Her calm exterior completely contrasted her state of mind. If one were to look inside her head, they would only see ensuing chaos. But for Raven this is normal. Normal to her and her teammates for the girl to hide her emotionally tortured soul.

But their recent victory over her father, Trigon, has given Raven an increased freedom of emotion without having to worry about thing blowing-up all the time. Less pain and struggle within her mind. Slowly but surely, Raven is becoming more… human.

After a moment or so the doors open and a yawning Beast Boy enters the room. He groggily rubs his eyes and makes a beeline for the kitchen area. On his way there he catches a glimpse of Raven in the corner of his eye and stops in his tracks. He looks curiously at her and she offers no response. Breaking all logic he decides to try and address her.

"W-wow… your up pretty early Rae…" He nervously mumbles.

The dark girl in question stops her chanting and turns her head slightly to acknowledge the green animorph. A drop of sweat form on the back of Beast Boy's head. All this time he spent with Raven and he still hasn't learned to keep his green mouth shut at these kind of moments. He cursed himself mentally

"…I just wanted to be up early in-case I… detect something." Raven finally responds.

Beast Boy looks blankly at Raven for a few moments until he figures out what she is saying.

"Oh yeah!" he exclaims, "You did say you get a weird vibe when those two characters are around."

"Yes I did."

"…sooo…any luck so far?"

"…unfortunately, no." she says with a deep sigh. She lowers her feet to the ground and stands up straight. She turns to face Beast Boy directly.

"And at this point it's hopeless…" she says gloomily.

"You couldn't get anything at all?"

"It seems I can only feel them when they're active. At the moment they're probably still in hiding, wherever that is…"

"Bummer, what can we do now?"

"Like Robin said last night: we wait for the next opportunity. But as for the moment… breakfast."

Raven makes her way towards the kitchen past a dumbfounded Beast Boy. He stares at her all the way until she disappears past the cupboards. After an exasperated sigh he follows her lead.

"Yeah, she's right," he mumbles to himself, "Besides, how often can _they_ show up?" Beast Boy throws his worries behind him like always. If anything, it's his optimism that is his best quality. Always looking at the bright side of things, his own personal way of balancing the universe. The Titans couldn't live without it.

------------------------------------------------

In a dark underground lair.

An infamous Dr. Volkov sits in front of his giant computer screen typing away. Hundreds of windows pop in and out of the screen show random files and text.

"The experiment is almost complete," He mumbles to himself. He continues to type away, not tiring a bit. The popping windows seem to increase pace a bit.

"I just need a few more pieces to the puzzle," his eyes narrow as he seems to search his screen for something particular. "…but where to look?"

He types, and types, and types some more, and types a lot more, and suddenly stops. He stares into the computer screen. He grins widely flashing his rotten yellow teeth. He reaches into his pocket to retrieve a cellphone and places a call.

"Riya, Sakura," said the doctor, "good news, I've found our next target location."

------------------------------------------------

"OK, just so I'm clear, this case will be our top priority for the moment."

At this point all the Titans are now awake and have finished their breakfast. Robin stands in front of his four teammates who were all comfortably seated on the couch equidistant from one another.

"Let's start with what we can work with, Cyborg," he points to his metallic comrade, "we got anything on that highway robbery?"

"If you're askin' if we know what was stolen," Cyborg holds up a digital clipboard of sorts, "then no we got squat on that. STAR Labs is still not telling anybody what that stuff is. Says its highly classified."

"Dude, EVERYTHING these days is 'highly classified'" Beast Boy interjects

"And the bank robbery?" Robin inquires, evident frustration in his voice.

"That don't seem strange at all dawg. Evidence says it's just a typical smash and grab for the crooks."

"Can't be. There's something we're missing."

"Well, uh…" Cyborg rechecks his notes a bit "There was one thing other than cash and jewels that was stolen. Problem is nobody knows what it is dawg, or if them crooks were really gunnin' for it _or_ just grabbed it like everything else."

"Right… um Raven---"

"Sorry, Robin," the sorceress answers immediately "I don't have anything either."

"How unfortunate we are." Starfire comments, reflecting the general mood.

Robin sighs in exasperation, This really isn't his lucky day at all. "Well we'll just go with that object from the bank since we've got nothing else at the moment."

"On it dawg." Cyborg affirms.

"OK then now if there is no more business at hand---"

"Uh, wait a minute dawg," Cyborg interrupts, "you do remember that thing we gotta do down Garland Compound right?"

"Huh?… oh right, that," said Robin. He knew what Cyborg was talking about. He always knew about it up until recent events have distracted him lately.

The Garland Compound would be hosting the International Grand Auto Show, an annual event that takes a tour around the world. Jump City has always been one of the stops since most of the manufacturers have major branches here. Every year the tour would feature the best and latest performance vehicles and concept cars to date. This year was special since the Titans were formally invited to be exhibitors, Cyborg with his T-car and Robin with his R-cycle. For the sake of public demand the Titans agreed of coarse.

"Well we always boast about giving the people what they want," Robin says in a slightly more cheerful mood, "Let's make sure we don't disappoint."

"Alright, dude!" cheers Beast Boy.

"Glorious," said Starfire, "I have been anticipating this event ever so much."

"I'll second that, dawg." concurs Cyborg.

"This is pointless" drones Raven.

"Awww, don't be such a party pooper Rae," said Beast Boy, "besides, a little sunlight this year might be healthy for you…hehehe."

A vein pops on Raven's head. "I mean Robin and Cyborg are the only ones who drive. Why do I have to tag along?"

"Sorry, Raven," Robin answers her "it's 'all for one and one for all' and all that jazz."

The third exasperating sigh of the morning from Raven.

"…sure, fine, whatever."

"Alright then. Cyborg, get the T-car ready and I'll take care of my bike. Everyone else can take some time off."

Robin makes for the door as Cyborg gets up from his seat to follow his lead. Starfire, Beast Boy and Raven also stand up and make for the exit.

"Are you not exited, friend Raven?" inquires Starfire "this shall surely be a most festive event."

"It's just another event I'm forced to cavort with people I don't want to be with."

"Oh do not be so gloomy, Raven. Think of this event as a most inviting moment for relaxation on our part."

"The only time I'll get to relax is when my body is destroyed by a catastrophic event insinuated by my father trying to take over the world and I will be forced to wander around as my soul-self, as if that is even a remote possibility."

"…eh?"

------------------------------------------------

The Garland Compound. Near the center of the metropolitan area of the city. It's a place of commerce, science, and retreat all rolled up into one location. The wide compound is composed of three major areas the specializes in the aforementioned categories.

To the south was the Garland Technology Center (GTC), ten-stories tall. Here many advanced laboratories are used by some of the brightest minds of today to create the most advanced technologies for the widest variety of applications but all for the sake of research and development.

In the center was Garland Park. A wide open area filled with the usual stuff you'd expect to find in a park like grass fields, stone walkways, fountains, statues, and a big gazebo. This area is often used for many major events like exhibitions, variety shows, and concerts. Today it's the prime location for the International Grand Auto Show which was now being arranged.

To the north was the Drycreek Plaza. A large four-story shopping center. A credit card holder's dream it has everything from toiletries to super high-speed supercomputers. Not to mention a whole variety of restaurants, cafés, buffets, and all that good stuff. Inside people wander about looking at the different shops like everything was normal.

But recent events would dictate a very low chance of normality today.

On the roof of the plaza.

"So that's our target location." Sakura looks to the southern structure.

"You know the plan right?" Riya, still in his coat, inquires his sister while also looking onwards.

"You'll take care of the security details on the top floor while I get what we need from the fifth."

"Alright, then."

"Do we have to wait for the auto show to start?" she stares down at the park where workers are busy setting-up booths and placing the assorted cars in their proper places.

"Yes, we want as little interruptions as possible. With the auto show distracting everyone it would give us the best opportunity then."

"Ok, I'll wait."

Riya looks at her. That wasn't the response he was expecting.

"…I'm glad your learning to compromise."

"I guess I was a little whiny lately."

"I won't hold it against you. That's what little sisters are suppose to do anyway."

Sakura smiles slightly and looks to her brother.

"So, what do we do in the meantime, bro?"

"Let's eat. I brought lunch."

And the two wander off.

------------------------------------------------

Later that day.

The noon sun holds high above the partly cloudy sky. A perfect sunny day. The Auto Show was now at it's peak level of excitement. The exhibits composed of high performance sports cars all arranged in their respective categories. To one side was an exhibit of high performance off-road vehicles. On another end were super-charged muscle cars. On another end were luxury sedans of the finest quality. Another end, sports bikes from Japan.

But the star attractions were the super-high performance road cars that occupied the center of the exhibition. And the even bigger were the two special guest vehicles, The T-car and The R-cycle. Robin and Cyborg could be seen standing by their respective machines with pride, waving to the crowd.

Meanwhile the other Titans were simply mingling. Starfire was out and about with Beast Boy looking at the many exhibits and eventually checking out the small snack bar set up at one corner of the area. Raven on the other hand, being who she is, found a nice quiet spot near a small hill covered in foliage, sitting, quietly meditating. Alone in tranquil silence…that is eventually, like all things, ruined.

"There you are!" exclaims Beast Boy.

Raven's eyes pop open. "Good afternoon Beast Boy."

"Am I interrupting anything?"

Raven stares blankly at him.

"…r-r-right…well cheer-up, I brought ya something!"

"Dare I asked what it is?"

"It's a new drink they're sellin'," Beast Boy holds a canned beverage in his hand and is showing it to her. "Starfire wanted you to try it."

"If it's Starfire's recommendation, I'm really disinclined to take it."

"How come?"

"Beast Boy, she drinks mustard…"

"…oh, right," he simpers "But don't worry it's just a new chilled herbal tea drink. We all know how you like your tea Rae so Star thought she get one of these for you to try out." He holds the canned drink for Raven to take.

"…I really don't feel like ---"

"C'mon Rae, it's not gonna kill ya!"

"…"

Raven stares blankly for a few moments and eventually takes the can from a smiling Beast Boy. She looks it over. Everything is in Japanese so she couldn't read what it was. She opens it and takes a sip.

"…"

"…weeeeell…?"

"…not bad." She says simply.

Suddenly, her eyes grow bigger in a shocked expression of sorts, her entire body visibly tenses up. Beast Boy seas this and is taken aback.

"Woah! Rae what's wrong! Was it somthin in the drink?"

"No, Beast Boy," Her eyes narrow in apprehension, "They're here."

"Who's here?"

------------------------------------------------

Top floor of the GTC where the central security monitoring room lies. Inside is a room with monitors on every inch of the front wall. Here, two watchmen entertain themselves with conversation while seated behind a control panel.

"Ok," said the first "The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?"

"Umm…I dunno," responded the second

"Alright, how about this. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?"

"Uhh…no, nothing."

"One more. What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes?

"…Sorry, got nothing."

"Try this then. What is it that you can keep after giving it to someone else?"

"…next."

"Ok, this ones easy. What is that you will break even when you name it?"

"ummm…---"

"Silence."

A voice neither of the two recognized answered the riddle for them.

The two wide-eyed watchmen bolt off their seats and look behind them where a hooded figure stands stoically. They reach for their sidearm but are sooner met with a fist and a heel to their noggin. Both fell to the floor unconscious.

The figure walks toward the control panel and sit down on one of the chairs. He types something and results pop on the screen. He grins under his hood. He reaches into his pocket and gets a cellphone to place call.

"I'm in," he says into the phone, "your up."

------------------------------------------------

"Got it," she responds. She hangs-up and pockets away her phone. She then makes a beeline across the hallway completely ignoring the security cameras. She didn't have to worry. She knew who was watching her.

She reached a set of double doors labeled 'Advanced Mechanical Development (AMD)' and walks in. Inside, the room was large, filled with all sorts of machines. Computer terminals lined the middle of the room, divided by a center aisle, at least in the area closest to the door. The other half of the room was a large space where miscellaneous machinery was strewn about.

She browsed the random equipment. She spots what she's looking for. She walks up to it and looks it over.

It looked to be a long metallic cylinder resting, bolted, onto a metal block covered in buttons, dials, and knobs. To be abstract, it look liked a big, metallic, hotdog on a bun.

She really didn't know what to make of it. Her brother was the mechanical expert, not her. But she knew it was little consequence, she found enough trust in the doctor and her brother to not question her missions.

She looks around more and finds a metal cart. She walks to it, takes it, and goes back to the device. She lifts the device effortlessly and placed it on the cart. She makes for the door, cart in tow but just as she reaches end of the room perpendicular to the exit.

The doors blows open and from it enter five familiar teens.

"Lithium!" Robin points dramatically at the girl, "I don't know what your up to but it ends here!"

Lithium narrows her multi-colored eyes. She moves the cart, with device, to rest on the corner of the room, out of the way. She then proceeds to face the teens completely.

"You just won't quit won't you, hero boy?" she says coldly. She stands her ready.

"We won't underestimate you this time!"

Robin makes the first move charging at Lithium with fist and feet flying in martial arts style. Lithium blocked and parried every attempted strike to her by the Boy Wonder. Though Robin's moves were smooth and of perfect form, Lithium easily matched this by compensating with her inhuman speed and strength, though she still struggled some. She finds an opening for her counter attack and takes it. She hits Robin in the chest effectively shoving him backwards like before.

"Ugh!"

Robin flies backwards while Starfire flies over his form and forward at Lithium, fist first. Lithium evades by jumping to her right, flipping in midair, and landing on a computer terminal. Starfire halts her charge and redirects herself, and throws a large starbolt at the girl in black.

"Dahh!"

Lithium crosses both arms in front of her form to block. She takes the hit and her body is flung all the way to the back wall. She manages to compose herself in mid-flight, and plants herself in a 'crouching' position on the vertical wall. She looks up (forward from a normal vantage point), she sees Raven and Starfire charging at her closely followed by Cyborg and Beast Boy.

She bolts of the wall and tackles Raven and Starfire sending them both to the ground. Upon impact Lithium bolts off the tamaranian and sorceress and towards Cyborg with a fist at ready. Cyborg takes it in the chin and is knocked back. Lithium land in his place, crouching.

"Oof!" "Ack!"

Next to her, Beast Boy has transformed into a gorilla, and swings down two mighty arms. Lithium brings both arms over her head to block. The impact causes the floor to crack as lithium remains unaffected. She sweep-kicks Beast Boy, tripping him and tumbling him over on his back. Relieved of the pressure. Lithium stands up…in time to see Robin charge at her, bo staff extended.

"Rrrrgh…!"

Lithium takes out her combat knives and blocks Robin's downswing. Robin swings to the side, Lithium blocks with parallel knives. Robin swing to the other side, Lithium blocks again only this time with just her right knife. Her left blade is swung at Robin who ducks backwards to avoid. Lithium swings her free right blade down, Robin blocks with a horizontal staff. Lithium thrusts her left blade to Robin's chest, he volts over her to avoid, lands behind her. Both fighters swing a hundred and eighty degrees. Bo staff and blades collide heavily, forcing the two to back away from each other.

"Uhh!" "Ahh!"

Lithium recovers and stands straight to face Robin, but instead find random machinery, lifted by black telekinesis, heading for her, behind which was a floating Raven with glowing eyes. Lithium quickly holsters her combat knives. She flips backwards, continuously, as machinery drop and crash were she would have been standing.

She stops in a kneeling position and looks forward. Beast Boy in Ram form charges at her, horns bearing. As the animorph closes in she grabs his horns in her hands, swings around completely, and flings him at the floating Raven. The two Titans impact with each other and are knocked backwards.

"Aaahh!" "Duhh!"

Cyborg goes for the girl. Lithium takes her knives again. Cyborg attacks with a fury of punches and jabs. Lithium simply parries away with her knives or altogether avoids the mechanical teen's attacks. Cyborg makes a last jab to her stomach. Lithium crosses her blades over his wrist locking it in place before it could make contact with he flesh.

Cyborg merely grins. The arm transforms into a sonic cannon and fires. Lithium goes flying back to the wall near the exit.

"Aaagahh---Ooof!"

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Meanwhile in the security monitoring room on the top floor.

Security monitors show the action taking place in the AMD room between the Titans and the mysterious Lithium girl.

The hooded figure stands and watches the events unravel from the monitors. He frowns in anger and annoyance. Another unexpected and unwanted interruption from the five heroes.

He decided then and there he would resolve this problem first hand. He turns and swiftly walks out the room and proceeds to go and help his sister.

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She hits the floor on her knees. She looks up weakly. The Titans were all recovered and standing in the center aisle.

"Surrender now, villain," exclaimed Starfire, "This scenario shall not fall on your favor!"

"Yeah, what she said!" concurs Beast Boy.

"Give up, you're defeated." Robin orders to Lithium.

"This is far from done!" Lithium groggily gets up and into a fighting stance, "I can't, I won't let you stop me from bringing _her_ back!"

"What?" Robin's eyes grow a little wider. "Bring _who_ back?"

"She is all that matters, nothing else!"

"Who the heck are you talking about? Tell me!"

Just then. The double doors burst open. All turn to look in shock as a hooded figure promptly walks in…aiming a P90 submachine gun in the Titans' direction. The Titans notice and wastes no time, taking cover immediately as the figure opens fire.

The rattling sound of rapid fire was almost deafening. Bullets fly every which way as the five teens duck under the safety of computer terminals. Sparks from machinery taking hits from the gunner light up the room in blinding flashes. The gunner stops firing he looks to his side and yells: "Go now!" to Lithium, who nods in response.

Lithium bolts for the cart, with her targeted device still resting on top, from the corner of the room and swiftly exits through the wide open door. At the same time, the gunner removes the now empty clip from his weapon and reloads a new one. He resumes his aim and continues firing in the direction of the Titans.

Bullets and sparks fly as the Titans are forced to stay low for cover. Unseen by anyone else, Lithium runs down the hall and to an open elevator courtesy of a certain mysterious figure.

Back in the AMD room the gunner runs out of bullets again. He drops his gun to the floor, at the sound of which the Titans spring up from their respective covers.

"You!" a very angry Robin points at the gunner, "Who are you?"

The Titans assemble in the middle aisle. The strange figure grabs something from his pocket.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" he said. He throws whatever he was grabbing at the Titans. It looked like a small tin can at a glance but a combat expert would know better.

"Grenade!" exclaims Cyborg. Raven didn't hesitate and formed a black energy shield to cover her and the rest of the Titans. There was no great explosion but it caused blinding flash and smoke bellowed from the thing enveloping the entire room.

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From outside, in the hallway.

A hooded figure bolts from the smoke-filled room. And runs down the hall and to the elevator where a familiar girl in black waits with a cart.

"What are you still doing here?" He in asks her "Get down to the basement, now!"

"But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. Get this thing back to the hideout. Mother needs it."

"Are you sure you're gonna be ---?"

"Sakura. I promise you, I'll come back. Ok?" He smiles reassuringly.

"…Ok." she responds with a slight smile of her own.

She boards the elevator with device-on-cart in tow. The doors closes with both sparing a parting glance at each other.

As the elevator goes down the hooded figure moves to the call button panel on the wall. He slams an open hand in a claw shape into the wall digging his fingers in the metal. He grabs and yanks the call button panel from the wall effortlessly, rendering the elevator in accessible from that particular floor. He drops the useless debris to the floor.

Just at that moment the Titans came out from the smoke laden room and out into the hallway. To face the hooded stranger.

"Hey where is she? Talk!" Robin commands the stranger.

"She's long gone," the said culprit responds.

"How do you know Lithium?"

"Oh… is that the name she gave you?"

"We don't have time for games. Who the hell are you?"

"Who, me?" the stranger sheds his overcoat and reveals himself underneath.

His athletic build stands at about five foot nine inches tall. His generically handsome face, with its smooth, yet similarly hard, features was topped of with long platinum hair tied in a ponytail. The kinda guy who would more likely bee seen in an beach ad rather than terrorizing a tech facility.

His attire similarly contrasted his features like it did his sister. He wore dark gray, metal laced combat boots that reached to his knees, over a set of thick, black combat trousers. For his top he wore a thick, tight-fitting, dark gray combat vest, sewn with pockets, over a black, long sleeve, turtleneck shirt. He wore thick, fingerless, biker style gloves. In terms of accessories, he had a thick utility belt around his waist attached to a combat harness going over his shoulders. Hanging from his belt, over his right thigh was a holster with a custom .45 pistol. Hanging of the other side were a dozen or so belt pockets containing pistol clips. Attached to his left boot was a holster with a combat knife.

The Titans took note of all this as well as the difference in color of each of his eyes similar to you-know-who.

"You can call me…Arsenic…"

Robin's eyes narrow under his mask. "Whoever you are, your not getting away with what you're planning!"

"That's funny coming from you, since I doubt you have even the slightest clues regarding exactly what we're planning."

"Who's 'we' exactly?" suddenly inquires Raven.

"Wouldn't you like to know…?"

"Enough talk!" Robin exclaims and charges Arsenic with a myriad of martial art techniques. Robin mostly attacks while Arsenic just blocks. At one point Arsenic grabs Robin's punch in his hand. Robin punches again with his free hand only to be grabbed by Arsenic again. With both of Robin's fists in his hand, the gun slinging villain knees the boy wonder in the stomach.

"Kaff!"

Arsenic backhands Robin sending him to the floor. Cyborg and Starfire were the next to charge down the hallway. Arsenic sees the two coming and readies himself.

Starfire, with her flight, was the fist of the two heroes to reach the culprit. She attempts to pile drive Arsenic but misses when he ducks just as she was about to hit him. Arsenic, with Starfire over him, grabs her feet from underneath. Starfire is taken by surprise.

"Ack!"

Arsenic swings the tamaranian princess around like a baseball bat…right into the charging Cyborg. Both teens are knocked to the wall and stunned slightly.

"Dah!" "Agh!"

Beast boy and Raven made the last attempted charge together. Beast boy transformed into a lion and tried to bite off the mysterious teen. Arsenic hops back to avoid the changeling's feline jaws. Beast Boy makes another bite attempt but instead receives a counter from Arsenic in the form of a fist to the nose. Beast Boy transforms back to his elfin self and stumbles back, clutching his nose and slightly tearing in pain.

"…mmmm!"

Raven makes her attack. She chants her famous word with her arms outstretched.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Black energy blasts out of Raven's arms towards Arsenic. He simply holds out his palm and 'catches' the bolt of dark matter. Raven's eyes grow wide with shock.

Arsenic, seemingly with some degree of difficulty, throws the bolt of black energy back at Raven, amplified. Raven tries to block but is hopelessly struck down hard to the floor by her own power.

"Aaaaggghhh!"

Raven goes unconscious.

Arsenic turns to leave.

"I got better things to do," he says, "and it doesn't involve any of you…"

Arsenic Bolts down the hallway. The rest of the Titans recover and get up.

"Titans, after him!" Robin blurts out.

"Dude, what about Rae?" Beast Boy asked with much concern. "She's been hit bad!"

"Yes, I concur," said Starfire. "We simply can not leave an injured comrade behind!"

Robin looks down to see Raven, completely knocked out. She is in no condition to be moved, let alone fight. He had no choice.

"Alright, Starfire, Beast Boy, you two stay with Raven. Cyborg your with me."

The team collectively nods in affirmation.

"Ok, Let's go!"

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Author's note: I'm glad I finally got a good review. It's nice to be appreciated, I'm hoping I get more, So pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssss read & review this story!

Oh and incase your wondering, the answers to the riddles in order of appearance are: footprints, the letter 'm', a hole in the ground, and a promise. Riya/Arsenic already answered the last one.

I'll be back with a new update in a few (more likely a lot of) days.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own jackcrud! That means a whole bunch of nothing!

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Arsenic ran down the hallway passing several doors. He glances at every one and doesn't find what he's looking for. He hears a swishing sound from the air and ducks his head as a birdarang flies by his cheek. He takes a glance behind him. Robin and Cyborg are about a few dozen feet away and catching-up. Arsenic grunts in annoyance. These teens are insanely persistent. But he knew that this was only the beginning of the chase.

Arsenic rounds a corner. He looks straight ahead and sees the door he was looking for. At the end of the hallway was a door labeled 'Office Area C'. he speeds up his pace while at the same time draws his custom .45 from its holster.

Aside from being a Colt semi-auto .45 caliber handgun, the weapon's customizations consisted of an extended bullet clip, a compensator attached to the nozzle, and a combination laser dot-sight and scope planted above the barrel.

Arsenic aims the gun forward and shoots. The bullet hits its desired mark which was the lock on the office door, breaking it completely. He charges straight through with an elbow to the door which opens with no resistance at all. As he enters the office space, he turns to check behind him. Robin and Cyborg are just then taking the corner in the hallway. Arsenic also takes note of a fire extinguisher beside the door.

He grins and turns back. He makes for his intended destination which was the large window facing the park. He takes a couple more shots hitting and cracking the thick glass window. He bolts towards it, and breaks out into thin air.

Robin and Cyborg's eyes grow wide in shock. They speed up their pace to try and catch him. They thought he was committing suicide by the look of it, but Arsenic knew exactly what he was doing.

Arsenic swings around in midair, grinning and aiming his .45 at the direction of the Titans just as the enter the room. He fires a few rounds which was not intended to hit the two Titans but instead hits the fire extinguisher by the door. It explodes covering the two teens in a suffocating cloud of cold carbon dioxide, halting them in their charge.

Arsenic, in the meantime, is falling five stories. In midair he turns his boy upright, He lands in a crouch, completely unaffected by the impact to the ground which leaves a few cracks in the concrete. People from the auto show gasp and shriek at strange teen's entrance and begin to back away.

Arsenic looks back at the fifth floor window of the GTC building. The two teens emerge from the white cloud looking down back at him. More like glaring actually.

Robin takes out his grappling hook and stabs the sharp end to the floor of the of the room and extends the grappling cable. Cyborg clutches the edge of the floor and detaches it from his body wile at the same time extends his own grappling cable from his forearm, attached to his clutching hand. The two heroes proceed to repel down the building face.

Arsenic turns away and takes a moment to look for possible options. He finds one. Particularly, a brand new, yellow Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster (convertible) on exhibit. He grins in satisfaction.

He holsters his weapon and bolts for the car. Civilians and employees wisely get out of his way. Arsenic hops into the roofless car. He takes out his combat knife and uses it to pick the ignition slot. The car roars to life with over five-hundred horsepower.

Robin and Cyborg have now reached the ground in their decent from the building. Robin retracts his hook and Cyborg retracts his hand. They look for Arsenic and spot him just as the Murcielago breaks from its exhibit stand. Crowds scatter every which way to avoid being run over by the wild sports car.

The two heroes quickly make for their own vehicles inside the same exhibit. Robin hops on his R-cycle and puts on his helmet while Cyborg gets in the T-car's driver seat. Both vehicles start at the same time and break away from their respective exhibit stands in hot pursuit of the fleeing Murcielago.

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Back inside the GTC building, on the fifth floor hallway.

"…uuuugghh…"

Raven groggily wakes up from her impromptu nap from just a few minutes ago.

"Is your condition any better friend Raven?" a concerned Starfire inquires.

"Yeah, you were out for like five minutes," said Beast Boy, right beside the tamaranian. "Ya feelin' alright now, Rae?"

"…Moderately speaking," said Raven. She tries to get up but finds that she cannot do so without support.

"Whoa, watch it Rae," said Beast Boy as he supports her on his shoulders.

"Thanks…" she drones. "What happened anyway?"

"Well… that Arsenic dude kinda threw your attack back at 'ya, Rae."

Raven tries to recall the past events from memory.

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Raven makes her attack. She chants her famous word with her arms outstretched.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Black energy blasts out of Raven's arms towards Arsenic. He simply holds out his palm and 'catches' the bolt of dark matter. Raven's eyes grow wide with shock.

Arsenic, seemingly with some degree of difficulty, throws the bolt of black energy back at Raven, amplified. Raven tries to block but is hopelessly struck down hard to the floor by her own power.

"Aaaaggghhh!"

Raven goes unconscious.

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"Oh yeah…" she said. "Where is he now?"

"The dude bailed and Robin and Cy are after him. Robin told us to keep an eye on ya."

"We'd better get after them before they--- "

"I can not condone, friend Raven!" Starfire contradicts. "You are hardly in any position or condition to give chase much less do battle."

"Yeah, listen to her Rae!" Beast Boy agrees "You ain't goin' anywhere, not after what that guy did to 'ya."

Raven couldn't argue with the two. Physics dictate that identical energy frequencies cancel each other out. Arsenic's counter attack, of literally returning her same attack, drained her completely. She's gonna have to take some time to recharge otherwise she would be completely useless.

"Say, how did he do that to 'ya anyways?" asked Beast Boy

"His aura must give him the ability to counteract magic…"answered Raven.

"Tell me friend Raven is this person who calls himself 'Arsenic' the same person you have been sensing during recent times?" inquires Starfire curiously.

"It was the exact same presence I sensed, yes. Can't be anyone else but those two."

"This is most puzzling. I do not see any logic in their actions or if there is an existing plot to begin with."

"Their emotions are hard to identify. I cannot speculate on exactly why they are doing these things either."

"Don't worry you two!" Beast Boy interjects. "When Robin and Cy catch that dude we'll know what's goin' down!"

"I doubt it's that easy Beast Boy."

"…say what, Rae?"

"In this line of business, it never is…"

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On the city streets.

The Murcielago barrels down the street, wheezing through traffic like it was standing still. A couple of blocks behind were the T-car and the R-cycle in very hot pursuit.

Arsenic looks in his rearview mirror and sees his pursuers gaining at him. He shifts up and floors the gas pedal. The Murcielago accelerates to over a hundred and fifty. The two Titans in pursuit follow Arsenic's lead and keep-up.

Arsenic sees an intersection up ahead with a red to his road. He takes out his pistol, aims over the windshield, and fires on the overhead traffic lights, destroying them completely. He flies through the intersection while a bunch of civilian cars crash into one another due to the lack of coordination from the traffic lights. A pile-up results in the middle of the intersection, clogging the street.

The Titans see this and react in their respective ways. Cyborg is forced to stop the T-car to prevent further addition to the pile-up, while Robin on the other hand rears up his front wheel and uses one of the crashed cars that was at an angle as a ramp and vaults into the air and over the pile-up. Robin then proceeds to continue his pursuit.

Arsenic takes a glance at his mirrors and spots the Boy wonder. He decides he needs a new strategy. He shifts down, applies the brakes, and turns the wheel right, effectively putting the car into a drift to the right.

The Murcielago screeches along the road and takes a right turn on the next intersection…which happened to be a one way street going to the left.

Arsenic steers expertly around the oncoming traffic. Drivers, taken by surprise by the incoming sports car, swerve at the last second, some plowing into other cars and others straight into nearby buildings. Arsenic remains unaffected by all this while Robin, in the meantime is having a little more trouble in navigating through all the chaos, narrowly avoiding car after car.

The Murcielago eventually takes a left at a junction returning to the right side of the road. Robin in his R-cycle follow suit. Inside Robin's helmet, the built in radio kicks in with Cyborg's voice on the line.

"Yo, Rob, were you guys at?"

"We're traveling down Campos St. heading north. Can you catch up?"

"I'll see what can do!"

"Just activate your GPS and track my bike, Over and out!"

Arsenic and Robin continue their game of cat and mouse with Robin coming ever closer. Arsenic sees this fact. He looks up ahead and sees a multi level parking lot, an office building with a glass outer window, and the elevated freeway just on the other side of the office building, all to his right. A little plan formulates in his head. He grins.

He turns into the parking lot, the very low profile sports car easily traveling under the security gate with millimeters to spare, completely startling the guard on duty. He climbs the spiral all the way to the top level. Robin, meanwhile, hops over the gate and follows the Murcielago.

They reach the top level. The Murcielago speeds down the concrete floor towards the office building on the opposite side of the exit. There was a simple metal barrier at the edge of the parking lot. Arsenic takes out his .45 and starts firing at the metal barrier. It turns to Swiss cheese. The Murcielago easily breaks through the newly weakened barrier, flies into the air, and breaks through the glass window of the office building.

The Murcielago crashes into several cubicles on its way in, causing many startled office workers to flee in a mad panic, as well as random office junk to fly up in the air. Arsenic the turns the car to the right traveling down a narrow aisle leading to the east window, also made entirely out of glass. He crashes outward onto the elevated freeway and turns southward, a few cars screeching to a halt in surprise.

Robin in the meantime was doing his best to catch-up. He jumps off the parking lot and into the office building. Upon reaching the floor he stops in the middle of the room to talk to an office worker cowering in the side.

"Which way did he go?"

The nerve wrecked employee simply points a shaking finger to the hole in the east side window.

"Thanks."

Robin accelerates the R-cycle in the pointed direction, random papers flying into the air in his slipstream. He jumps off the edge and onto the freeway. He then turns southward in hot pursuit yet again.

Arsenic observes that Robin is still on his tail. He shifts up some and accelerates the car to about a hundred and sixty. He swerves in and out of traffic expertly. Robin follows close behind.

Robin presses the side of his helmet activating the built in radio communicator in it. He contacts his comrade.

"Cyborg, report your location."

"I'm goin' west on McKone St."

"Take the main road south and get up on exit 13. Head him off there, got it."

"Got it!"

"Over and out."

Robin resumes his chase. He accelerates to match the speed of the Murcielago while swerving to avoid traffic. Up ahead, Arsenic reloads hi .45 with a fresh clip and looks at his rearview mirrors and sees Robin still there. He was anything but aggravated.

Arsenic looks up ahead to search for possible options. He sees one in the form of a large truck with a trailer carrying a very much larger and longer metal shipping container.

The Murcielago accelerates to catch the truck. Once it reaches the truck, Arsenic turns the wheel, swerving the car to his left and underneath the truck's trailer, the Murcielago's low profile coming in real handy affording him inches of clearance. Arsenic takes something out of his vest pockets. It looked like a hockey puck of sorts. He throws it to the plate which connects the trailer to the cab. The device latches on, seemingly by magnetism. Arsenic aims his pistol and shoots one round at the device. The bullet makes it mark, and the puck like device explodes like a grenade.

The following results were that the trailer vaults up into the air on one end, tilts sideways, and lands on its side perpendicular to the roadway, covering the entire width of it. This effectively creates an impromptu roadblock which renders the road impassable by any and all incoming traffic. Which included a very specific teen on a bike.

Robin skids to a stop just beside the trailer lying on its side. He gets off of his bike to assess his remaining options. He finds nothing helpful. He has lost the chase.

Robin rears his gloved fist and angrily slams it at the still trailer.

"Damn it!"

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Arsenic scans his mirrors. He spots no sign of the Boy Wonder or any other traffic for that matter. Confident he lost one heroic pursuer he accelerates the car even more down the freeway. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind he can't help but feel he's forgetting about something.

Just as the Murcielago passes an exit, the T-car appears from it to tail the sports car closely. An angry Cyborg behind the wheel of the blue and white vehicle. Arsenic looks behind him.

Oh yeah, now he remembers.

Arsenic turns his sights back on the road ahead. He shifts up and accelerates even more. The T-car follows suit as Cyborg activates the jet booster, located in the rear to match speeds with the Murcielago. The two cars speed down the curving highway reaching two hundred miles per hour.

Arsenic tries something to lose his new pursuer. He applies the brakes and slows the car enough to take the next exit. Cyborg is taken aback by this and tries his best to imitate. The Murcielago clears the exit easily while the T-car show some trouble by slamming into the yellow plastic barrels, supposedly to cushion high-speed impacts, knocking a few over but nevertheless keeping his speed.

Both vehicles were now back on surface streets. The T-car slowly but surely closes ground on the Murcielago. Arsenic looks over his shoulder and behind him. As he thought earlier, his chasers were insanely persistent.

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In the meantime, about half a mile ahead of the chase.

One of the many park areas around the city. A little girl that would look about six or seven years old is merrily kicking a miniaturized soccer ball. A few kids are playing behind her in the grass area while the mothers were busy chatting a storm while seated on the benches. Not a care in the world.

The girl with the soccer ball unknowingly moves to the sidewalk. She accidentally kicks the ball a little too hard. And the ball bounces a good few feet away resting right in the middle of the street.

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Inside the T-car, Cyborg is all but keeping his patience. The chase has gone for longer than he expected and far more complicated. Arsenic had turned out to be an excellent driver with skills he'd never seen anywhere else. Again the Titans had underestimated their foe, and the metallic hero is pretty ticked off at that fact. He floors his accelerator and gains speed.

Arsenic is still looking over his shoulder. He observes the T-car slowly gaining on him. He tries to come up with any immediate plan of action but cannot fathom any at the moment. He turns his head back on the road. What he saw up ahead made his eyes grow wide and his heart skip a beat.

A little girl bending over to pick up a small soccer ball in the middle of the street. Completely oblivious.

Arsenic reacts instantly. He slams the brakes, throws the transmission into neutral, and turns the wheel hard to the left. The Murcielago grinds to a halt a few feet in front of the girl who falls on her behind in surprise. Cyborg is similarly taken by surprise and grinds the T-car to a halt in the same fashion.

A short moment of silence and stillness passes by.

Arsenic opens his door and exits the car. He looks over it and at the girl on the other side. Cyborg opens his door and also exits and moves to the side. He transforms his right arm into a sonic cannon and aims it over the hood of the T-car threateningly at Arsenic.

"Freeze!" the metallic teen commands.

Arsenic looks at Cyborg and back at the girl. Slowly he walks around the still roadster to where the little girl is sitting on the street.

"I said don't move!" exclaims Cyborg.

Arsenic ignores him completely. He stands over the girl who had a nervous look on her face, her eyes bordering on tears. Arsenic simply looks down on her with soft features. Slowly, gently, he picks her up with one arm hugging her close to his chest. He grabs her soccer ball with his other hand. He walks calmly to the sidewalk with the girl safely in his arms. Many people gasp and retreat at Arsenic's approach while others just stare. Cyborg keeps his cannon aimed.

Arsenic reaches the sidewalk and gently puts the girl down on her feet. He hands her the soccer ball which she takes with some hesitation. Arsenic gently places a hand on her head.

"Never play in the middle of the road ever again, all right?" he says reassuringly.

She slowly nods, her fear and anxiety disappearing from her expression.

"Go to your parents and stay with 'em. Go on now…"

The girl nods a last time and runs off into the park. Arsenic watches her off. He then turns and makes his way back to the Murcielago.

"I won't say again, Don't move!"

Arsenic stops to fully acknowledge the Titan who was threatening him. He glares at Cyborg who is similarly glaring back. More silence and stillness pass.

Suddenly, in lightning quick movements, Arsenic draws his pistol, turns at Cyborg's direction, aims and unloads. Cyborg, taken by complete surprise, yelps and ducks low behind his T-car to avoid the gunfire. Arsenic rapidly empties his gun on the T-car, covering its side in bullet holes, though not aiming at anything in particular.

The .45 clicks in emptiness. Cyborg cranes his head. He sees Arsenic quickly reloading another extended bullet clip and resuming his aim. He ducks back down just as Arsenic resumes firing. This time around he aims for something specific. He shoots a barrage of ammo at the two tires visible from his perspective. Though the T-car had reinforced treads, even those burst under such heavy punishment from the high powered bullets.

This renders the T-car immobile. Satisfied, Arsenic returns to his car seat, reactivates the engine, and drives of sparring the blank faced Cyborg a parting glance as he disappears down the road.

Cyborg stands up fully and dashes to the other side of his T-car. He assesses the damage and finds he is in no condition to pursue. Not to mention the fact that the T-car is gonna need a major overhaul. Needless to say, Cyborg was pissed. Very, very pissed.

"Dang it! Arsenic, I'm gonna get you for this!"

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Back in the dark lair of Dr. Volkov.

Sakura has returned with the device stolen from the GTC building earlier that day. Dr. Volkov was standing besides her taking a good look at the thing.

"Good…" he says "very good indeed."

He turns to Sakura who was standing patiently waiting for the doctor's word to her.

"You two have done very well."

"And Riya, what's happened to him?" inquired Sakura

"Relax, dear girl, your brother is fine…"

"And how do you know for sure?"

"He just called before you came in. It seems he has managed to escape capture today. He says he is already on his way back here."

Sakura seems to lighten her mood somewhat at this news. She moves her attention to the device she stole some time ago. Now, without the urgency of the Titans on her and her brother's back, she can completely feel curious about the device.

"Say doctor…"

The Doctor turns his attention to her.

"…what is this thing, anyway?"

"This…?" he points to the device in question, "…it's merely a high-powered core emitter designed to emit streams of extreme frequency electron beams."

"…oh…huh?"

"It's highly complicated. Even your brother has a hard time understanding the process."

"What process, doctor?"

"You of all people should know, Sakura. Your mother, she isn't exactly the kind of woman you could just shake out of bed. Even if we have all the pieces we need to complete her genome, we simply can't…'glue' it all together."

"So exactly what do we need to do?"

"The equipment I'm having you and your brother take are merely the requirements we need for the induction process."

"…induction process?"

"Using a special procedure, we will induce the genome to your mother's incomplete carcass. When the process works the way it should, your mother will regain her body. But until then we have a wish list to fulfill."

"I see…" she sighs exasperatingly. A wish list to fulfill. That would take time as always. A very long time.

"Don't be discouraged, child," Dr. Volkov said reassuringly as if sensing her plight. "Even God himself had to use seven days to create man…"

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Titan's Tower, much later that after noon.

The sun had already begun to travel down the horizon. The city starts to slow its pace as people pack it in and head for home after a hard days work. However, inside the domain of the five heroes, things are not nearly as calm.

"I can't believe we lost her! Again!"

Robin angrily paces back and forth at the center of the main room. The others are placed in the same spots as they were the last time the had this sort of debriefing: Cyborg on the couch and computer, Raven in the lounge area, and Starfire and Beast Boy by the bar.

"Dude, chill out already," said Beast Boy. "And can you please stand still. Your making me dizzy."

"Yes, please Robin, calm yourself…" concurs Starfire.

"Besides, we had unexpected company!"

"Yes indeed, surely you could not have predicted the arrival of the one who calls himself Arsenic!"

"Actually if you recall properly, I did warn you that there was somebody else…" said Raven.

Starfire and Beast Boy look nervously at her.

"…What are you saying, Raven?" inquires Robin.

"I'm saying you should have taken my warning. There were two of them out there but all you could think of was getting the girl. You completely overlooked the boy. You forgot that he was also dangerous."

Robin looked at her. He couldn't argue. Raven had a point, as always. This new player, Arsenic, was tough, very tough, if not more than the girl called Lithium. Raven said earlier that she sensed the possibility of more than one presence. Robin knew he should have accounted for it but he was too fixated on going after Lithium that he was taken by surprise by something that should have been obvious. Lithium beat them once, he didn't want it to happen again. But instead, Lithium got away and this new Arsenic guy beat the crap out of them.

"Rae, you don't have to be that hard on him!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"Truly friend Raven, that was much too harsh," said Starfire, "could you have not found more subtle ways of delivering your--- "

"Starfire." Robin interrupts her.

The two by the bar looked at him

"…She's right. I should've seen it, but I was too---"

"Fixated," blurted Raven

"…Yeah, that's it."

The mood of the room went even lower than before as a long moment of silence passes.

"Well I promise you. We won't underestimate either of those two from now on. The next time we see them, they go down…hard." Robin exclaims with renewed vigor. Everyone in the room lightens up a bit.

"Now we just need something that will crack this case."

"I got one dawg!"

Everyone turns to Cyborg to see what he had.

"Chief of police just gave us a holla'. Cops have managed to capture that gang that robbed the Roscher Bank."

"Alright," said Robin, "Finally, something we can work with."

"Damn right dawg, He also says we can see 'em anytime."

"Oh, I say we contact him to address this situation." suggested Starfire

"Star's right, I think I'll give a call right now and see if we can already go."

Robin makes for the telephone which was part of the console of the giant computer occupying the main room. He is about to reach his hand out for it when suddenly.

_rrrrring_

Robin is taken aback. The rest of the team curiously turns their heads to see. The phone keeps ringing.

"…m-m-maybe that's the chief right now," nervously said Beast Boy.

With some hesitation, Robin picks up the phone and holds it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"…"

"Who is this?"

"…"

"How did you ge---"

"…"

"…I'm listening."

"…"

"…Alright"

Robin hangs up. He stands creepily still for about a minute, with his back to the team, until Beast Boy decides to break the silence on behalf of the team.

"So, what's up already?"

"…we have a new lead."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, man?" asked Cyborg.

"I'll explain later. Mean while here's what we do."

He turns to face his friends.

"Cyborg, you, Starfire and Beast Boy meet up with the chief and interrogate the robbers. Raven your with me."

"…um…exactly what are we doing now?" inquired the dark girl.

"We have to pay someone a visit"

------------------------------------------------

The Skyline Tower Apartments, some time later.

By now the sun had completely set and the sky turned a dark blue hint. The first of the stars begin to twinkle to existence as most of the city settle to rest.

Robin and Raven walk down the hallway at a slow pace. Robin is scanning the passing doors for a specific number while Raven is curiously staring at him while keeping pace with her feet.

"Need I ask why we're here?" she asked.

"Like I said, we got ourselves a new lead." Robin responds but does not look at her. He still hasn't found the door he is looking for.

"I'm assuming it was that phone call we suddenly received. What's so interesting about it?"

"The guy said he has something on those _two_."

"Those two...you mean---?"

"Yup. And now we're here to get some answers."

"You were never trusted anonymous tips before, why start now?"

"Who says I'm starting?"

"Then how can you be sure he's telling the truth?"

"That's why I asked you to come with."

"…Ok…"

They continue down the hall until Robin stops in front of a particular door.

"Here we are."

He doesn't even bother knocking and just waltzes in through the unlocked door. Raven follows closely behind. The apartment was decked out with all the old furniture one would expect to see in a royal's house. It was also barren of life.

"Hello!" Robin suddenly exclaims into the empty space.

"I'm here." A voice emanates from a separate section of the room. An old man walks out carrying a tray with what looked like a tea set.

"I didn't expect you to be here so quickly…" he walks to the couch and sets the tray down on the coffee table. "…nor did I expect you to be so rude as to just barging in my home without so much as knocking." He sits himself calmly on the couch.

"So, you're the guy who called us?"

"Indeed I am Mr. Robin."

"How do you know those two? What is your connection to them?" he practically interrogates the old man. Raven plants a hand on his shoulder as if telling him to calm down.

"Now, now, Mr. Robin, no need for hostilities," the old man continues "I can assure you that I am the farthest thing from being your enemy."

Robin calms down some and regains his posture.

"Ok… so, exactly who are you anyway, sir?" the Boy wonder asked.

The old man stands up to introduce himself.

"Cannes, Dr. Allen Cannes. Head supervisor of Project: Maria"

------------------------------------------------

Author's note: Yay, more reviews came in. I'm so freakin glad right now. Well here's my fifth installment. Wait around for the next, though don't expect it too quickly. School is murdering me. Well anyways, pls. R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: copyrights are way overrated anyway.

------------------------------------------------

Twenty-four years ago…

Deep inside a frozen cave. The subterranean darkness is pierced by artificial light from collective high powered flashlights. A party of five treks deeper into the cavern. Their bodies completely covered by full winter gear. Their faces concealed by masks, goggles, and the hoods of their jackets.

"It's here."

"What's here?"

"This isn't another wild penguin chase is it. I've had more than enough of my share of those during my last stay here."

"Trust me on this one, you've got to see it to believe."

"All I see is more frost in my goggles. Jeez, man, where is this thing?"

"It's right after this next corner, wait till you see it."

They turn the corner. The enter a large cavern blocked by a giant wall of solid ice.

"…There's nothing here!"

"What do you mean nothing? Look!" he points his flash light at the ice wall.

The others collectively follow his beam of light with their own. The collective shine from the flashlights illuminates the ice deep enough to reveal…_something_…frozen within the ice. A longer glance reveals a lot more things inside.

"…oh…my god."

"…Jesus Christ of Nazareth."

"…unbelievable."

"…what in the blue hell…?"

"See? What did I tell you guys?"

------------------------------------------------

Twenty-one years ago…

In some anonymous, dimly lit room, in some anonymous location. Two men in laboratory coats stare up onto a large cylindrical glass container filled with a very conspicuous liquid. In the center floats freely a silhouette of some unknown humanoid form.

"Amazing, Allen. Can you believe it?"

"I'm looking at it with my own eyes, Nikolai, and still I have doubts."

"Who do you think she is?"

"A better question would be 'what is she?'"

"I'm afraid there is no way of telling for sure. However with the discovery of her genome structure, who knows what we can accomplish."

"Yes. Her genome exhibit startling properties doesn't it? It has double the base pairs of any terrestrial life form. As well as three extra chromosomes. Do you think this is natural to her?"

"No way of telling for sure. But we can tell _what_ it did for her. With this kind of structure she would have over double, even quadruple, the physical and mental capabilities of even an above average performance rate of a human. Her body would be near invulnerable to any form of bacterial or viral invasion. It would also be able to regenerate tissue, even entire organs and limbs, three hundred times faster than any animal on earth. Also, there is something that can only be described as a strong spiritual energy about her."

"The perfect survivor."

"Can you imagine the applications of this if we can break it down."

"Of course. Just think. An end to all diseases. A solution to restoring all physical and mental handicaps. Safe organ replacement procedures. With her spiritual properties we can learn to utilize bioethiric energies. And who knows what this research could bring after we're gone?"

"This will completely revolutionize the world."

A door opens somewhere along the wall. A woman, also in a lab coat, walks in.

"Dr. Cannes, Dr. Volkov, we're ready to start…"

------------------------------------------------

Nineteen years ago…

In another anonymous room, there is a screen showing the computerized image of a human fetus. While looking at it observantly, two men talk.

"How is the specimen?"

"He's doing very well."

"Define 'well' for me, Nikolai, if you don't mind."

"Alright. He is already in the fetal stage and growing normally. He shows normal vital signs as any other embryo."

"Is the genome showing any effects at all?"

"We're not seeing any effects as of the moment but analysis confirm that the genome has fully been integrated into his systems. We won't be able to confirm anything else until he passes the fetal stage. But look on the bright side Allen, at least he didn't end up like our initial tries."

"True…how many did we have to go through till they came to be successes?"

"A lot to say the least. Thirteen female specimens and eleven male ones were all failures until we could get two specimens that did not reject the genome. But when we can successfully raise this one, we can start with raising the female specimen."

"Oh, plans have already been made for that. If the male survives fourteen months pass the fetal stage the female embryo will be taken out of cryo stasis."

"I wonder what we should call them…?"

"Oh about that. The lead bio-engineer on this project, Dr. Takahashi, is asking us that, since he supervises the raising of these two, that they be named after _his_ children."

"You mean the two he lost at Hiroshima, during the war?"

"Yup."

"…that's doable, I think."

------------------------------------------------

Fourteen years ago…

A long metallic hallway lined with doors on all sides. All leading to unknown locations.

"What's going on, Allen?"

"The boy and the girl went on one of their tantrums again."

"No one seriously injured I hope."

"Three guards were injured, suffered a broken leg each and plenty of bruises. Dr. Takahashi suffered a couple of broken ribs as well."

"Shame. And I thought we raised these kids right."

"We did. Their problem lies in _who_ did the raising."

"Oh, so they were demanding for their 'mother' again, weren't they?"

"Yes, excessively. I have argued this before. Moving them here to this research facility was a mistake. They have a deep longing for their 'mother' that when unsatisfied can cause them to have…hostile tendencies."

"How is that different from any other child born in the last hundred centuries. They want their mother, and if they don't get her, they get mad, very mad. It's a law of nature, Allen. It's human to long for that which gave you life. Theirs is no different."

"If so then why did we agree to the decision of them moving here?"

"Like you said, my friend. We want to explore their 'hostile tendencies'."

------------------------------------------------

Ten years ago…

Inside an office, seated at a desk, filling papers of sorts. He sits inconspicuously. When suddenly the door bursts open.

"Volkov, how could you do this?"

The man at the desk looks up.

"Do what, Allen?"

The man who bursts in presents a piece of paper with printed writing. The man takes one quick glance and instantly recognizes it.

"I had no choice, Allen."

"Why did you do this behind my back?"

"You would have disagreed with me."

"Damn right I would have! How could you abandon our objectives like that?"

"I never abandoned them, I just…revised them."

"What about the two children?"

"They're in cryo, preserved."

"What, how could you--- ?"

"Look, Allen, I had no choice but to pursue this course of action. We needed extra fund. Also we need new equipment and this is the best way to get them and, the way I see it, the only hope left for this project to ever break ground!"

"The purpose of this whole project was to better the human condition. Not to make more excuses to make it worse! Are you telling you've lost sight of that?"

"No I have not!"

"Then why sell out this project to the _military ,_Nikolai!"

"Because they're willing to do what your afraid to do, Allen."

"What are you---?" he pauses. "Dear heavens. Your not planning on actually resurrecting Maria, are you?"

He points down to the piece of paper.

"Allen, times are changing. Look around you, no one wants to better the human condition, they just want to make it hell for everyone else! Look at the progress we've made with Riya and Sakura. With our research, the military can mass produce tailor-made super soldiers. Not to mention completely nullify the effects of chemical weaponry as well as---"

BAM! 

The man behind the desk falls over backwards after receiving a. impromptu right hook in the face. He holds his hand to his bruised cheek.

"You son of a ---!"

"I quit, Nikolai! I want no part in this…this debacle! Your on your own"

"…!"

The man turns to leave. He reaches the door and stops. He glances back.

"But don't think this is the last you'll hear of me…"

------------------------------------------------

Seven years ago…

In what seemed to be a board room of sorts. A man sits alone in waiting. A door opens along the wall and from it enters a man in uniform carrying an envelope.

"Dr. Allen Cannes?"

The man seated stands up. "Yes sir, I am"

The man in uniform walks up to him and formally greets him with a hand shake.

"I am Col. Williams. I'm here to talk about your involvement in Project: Maria."

"Colonel, please, I officially retired from that after it went under military authority."

"We know that, Doctor. We just need you to confirm some stuff for us. Here have a look at these."

The Colonel hands the envelope to the doctor who takes it and takes a few minutes to browse its contents.

"My god…what happened?"

"The project manager, Dr. Nikolai Volkov, decided to try and revolt against us when we tried to shut him down for conducting illegal experiments outside of protocol. We had to use force in order to stop him but when he resisted…disaster struck, to say the least."

"…How many died?"

"…The whole facility went up in flames. I don't know the official toll but I suspect it would be pretty high. We suffered many casualties ourselves and so far only a few of the people from the facility were found able to breath. All the others we presume are gone."

"…and Volkov?"

"Sorry, we found no trace of him yet."

"And the two children?"

"…you mean the bio-weapons?"

"Yes them, but please don't call them that…"

"…Alright…They were in cryogenics last, according to the record, and according to our report that part of the facility has been completely destroyed. We found no survivors there."

"I see…" he sighs. "What happens to Project: Maria now?"

"It's been completely wiped from the face of this world. As far as you or I or anyone else is concerned, the project never happened. I think that's all we want and need it to be."

"Yes, your right, Colonel."

"Now that you are up to speed, Doctor, there are some things we need you to take care of for us. This way, if you please…"

------------------------------------------------

"After that, I retired form the military. I moved here some years back just living off the rest of my life. I now work for STAR labs as a supervisor in bio-engineering. I swore to myself that I would never be involved in something like _Maria_ ever again. Though I said so, recent events had made me reconsider my silence. And that is why you're here talking to me."

Back at the present day Skyline Tower Apartments. Outside, the sky had completely darkened. Stars have completely carpeted the night-time atmosphere as the pale blue moon slowly treks upward.

Dr. Cannes was kindling the fire with an iron poker at his living room's fireplace. Behind him seated on the couch, Raven calmly sips from a warm cup of tea along side a now much calmer Robin. Both teen heroes have been listening intently to the Doctor's testimonies of past events with fascination and deep curiosity. Dr. Cannes' accounts were unbelievable to say the least.

"And so you called us to offer your help," said Raven.

"You want to give us information about those two, and this 'Dr. Volkov' as it were," concurs Robin

Dr. Cannes stands from the fire place, sets aside the poker, and moves to a recliner by the couch and takes a seat.

"Yes, Mr. Robin," he said. "I do so because I know exactly how much of a threat Project: Maria really is. And I feel that you and your band of gifted youngsters can stop it."

"Thanks for the complement, Doctor, but first thing's first. I want to know everything I can about this case. Can you really confirm that Arsenic and Lithium are the two children, Riya and Sakura?"

"I've been with them since they were artificially born and helped raise them. I'd never mistake their faces…or their capabilities."

"And can you be sure Dr. Volkov is truly running this operation?" inquires Raven.

"He was the only one not confirmed during the clean-up of the facility. Plus he's the only one who knows the induction procedure, and with the recent string of stolen goods…I can be very sure it is Volkov."

"Induction process, Doctor?"

"Let me explain…I can fully account for the missing object from the bank and the one stolen from the highway convoy."

"How so, Doctor?" inquired Robin.

"Because I own them."

"…?"

"After the incident the remaining pieces of the genome were put under my supervision. There were only two left, and were not enough to complete any attempt at the induction process. But the military still deemed them too dangerous and decided to keep the two hidden until recently when I filed a request to have them since I decided to use them in my research. They finally agreed. The first one came about a month ago and I had it placed in a safety deposit box at the Roscher bank. The other one was arranged to be transported directly to STAR Labs via a convoy. I think you both know what happened to those two."

The two teens nod.

"So he's trying to proceed with the induction process as it would seem," said Raven.

"But he can't be all that close to completing it. Like you said, Doctor, he only has two pieces of the genome but without the other two---"

"Unfortunately for us, Mr. Robin, he already has all four segments of the genome," interjected Dr. Cannes.

Robin's eyes grow wide. "Huh? But…how?"

"From the start of the project we decided to split the genome into segments for security purposes. We were on equal terms then so I took care of two segments and he took care of two of his own. We never told each other where we stashed our respective segments. He's the only one now who knows exactly where the remaining two segments are."

"This is dangerous," Raven says "That means he can start the induction process at any time."

"No, Ms. Raven, it's not that simple. The induction process is very complicated. One would need specialized equipment to pull it off."

"Like the one stolen from the Garland Tech Center!" concludes Robin.

The Doctor nods and continues. "But I doubt he has all the things he needs to complete the experiment."

"How can you be sure?"

"The man is obsessed with this project. He would not hesitate for the queen of England to resurrect Maria if he was able to. Which is why I'm urging the Titans to crack this case as soon as possible."

"While we're on the subject, Doctor, can you tell us anything about this 'Maria' and who or what exactly is she?"

"I afraid, Mr. Robin, I cannot tell you much. No one really knows exactly what she is. She was found somewhere in Antarctica. Her carcass was found preserved deep in ice along with some unknown ancient artifacts as well as the corpses of others of her own kind. No one exactly knows how she got there or why. Rumor has it she was an alien being that came to rest here on this planet a long time ago. Though this is very unlikely. It would be better to think of her as a remnant of some ancient forgotten civilization. We can only assume so because of her unusual genes. That's all I can say about her origins."

"The two children, you said that they were created out of her genome?"

"Yes, and because of this they exhibit what we theorized would be the traits and characteristics of Maria if she were alive."

"Can you expound on these traits?"

"Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and agility. As well as an I.Q. of about one-eighty, plus add to that regeneration capabilities over three hundred times faster than normal and immunity over all current chemical weapons."

"That's bad. They're essentially the perfect soldiers in terms of physical ability."

"Which is, really, the reason why Volkov should be stopped at all cost."

"I sense a lot of anxiety within you, Dr. Cannes," Raven speaks up while looking at the old man. "Is there something about Maria your not comfortable with? Most likely there is."

The doctor seems to have lost his voice all of a sudden. He sinks a bit lower in his chair. He looks down at the floor avoiding the stares of Raven and Robin at the couch.

"Doctor, please," said Robin "If there is something else we need to worry about---"

"There is." Dr. Cannes lifts his head to meet Robin's gaze.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"There was a reason Maria was never planned to be resurrected."

"What reason?"

Dr. Cannes sighs and puts his entwined hands to his head as if to gather his thoughts. The two Titans wait patiently, intently, for the Doctor to continue.

"There is a theory," he says. "It stems from how we originally found her, how she was with the others, and how the others differ from her…"

"How so?"

"The archeological dig revealed a scant few ruined remnants of the past. Some of which seem to say something about her, about Maria. It is this that spawned this theory."

"What's the theory, Doctor?"

"That Maria was something else. That she was not of her people and that she was either a foreign creature or something of their creation. Evidence favors the latter. But much is clear from the analysis of her and the ones along side her is that she is unique. But this uniqueness was what made he frightening. We can now truly speculate that Maria was not of her 'companions'."

"If so then what might she be?"

"A monster. A devil that brought ruin to the civilization that created her."

The two heroes became silent at this.

"We found very, very little evidence of the people she lived with. And from those tiny scraps of evidence we can almost fully conclude that she was somehow directly involved in the destruction of that civilization. It was therefore deemed to risky to society to try and resurrect her."

"If Dr. Volkov is actually able to resurrect this Maria…" said Robin

"Then it could mean the destruction of this entire metropolitan area, and further even," finished Raven.

"Like I have said before," said the good doctor. "Volkov must be stopped at all costs…"

------------------------------------------------

JCPD, Precinct fifteen.

Here reside the more unsung heroes of Jump City. Men and women who give their lives and honor to uphold and defend the law. To protect and serve the citizens of democracy. But that's besides the point at the moment.

In one of the interrogation rooms…

"Alright punk. I'm gonna be askin' you some questions, ya, hear? Where were you on the night of the fifth? The sixth? The thirteenth? The forty-eighth! Who was that dame yous was with, huh? Where'd you stash the cash, son? Who was the mastermind? Was it you? Him? Her? A cactus! Can't yous' undertands me? What, you don't understand English, boy! No habla Espanol, amigo! The silent type, ey? Oh, you'll crack anyways, they all do. We got ways of making you talk, punk. I will break you down, boy! By the time I'm done with you, you'll make the glee club look like the varsity football team! You're gonna squeal, boy, like a rump roast. You understand me, boy? Do you, huh? Huh? HUH!"

"YO, BEAST BOY!"

A very annoyed Cyborg interrupts his green little friend from his incoherently senseless ranting. Starfire was standing in one corner with a humored expression on her face and a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle. On the other end of the table was a guy in handcuffs seated on a chair and an officer standing beside him were both sweatdroping with expressions of nervousness and dumbfound.

Beast Boy, who was leaning over the table while holding a desk lamp by the head and directing it in the suspect's direction, retreated back to stand up straight, raise his arms sideways at waist level and says: "What?"

"Your not helping, man," answered Cyborg while glaring.

"…ehehehe…sorry, got a little carried away…"

"No kiddin', jeeeez!"

Beast Boy moves aside to make way for Cyborg. Cyborg takes chair and sits down while placing his hands the table.

"Alrighty then," he starts, "You, sir, have been arrested on counts of robbery, particularly the Roscher bank. We're on a very important case right now and if you cooperate with us, we might be a little forgiving on y'all."

The suspect nervously nods.

"Okee dokee, first question: who was the girl?"

"…sorry man, I just don't know."

"Chief says that's the same answer you gave _him _but I'm wantin' a bit more than that, dawg."

"I'm serous, man, I don't know nothing on her. We never met before the heist. She showed up like she was supposed to that day just like that old guy sai---"

"Woah, hold up! What old guy?"

"The dude who hired us. Said he needed some henchmen for a small job. Promised me and my guys all the loot we could carry. Only catch was we had to work for that girl when on the job."

"You know who this old guy is?"

"Never saw his face. We only talked to him over the phone."

"Why did he say he needed you? For muscle, or back-up, or something?"

"That's what I thought too at first but after I saw that chick in action I knew they didn't really need us that much, at all, man."

"Then did he or she give you a reason for being hired?"

"All the chick said was that she only needed us to make it look legit'"

"Legit?"

"I swear that's all she told us, man. But we couldn't complain, man. That heist was a blue plate special. We did leave with a pretty big haul then dontcha think?"

"Yeah you did, but don't be so proud of it. Remember why you're here, dawg."

The suspect simpers nervously as Cyborg continues.

"How much of the loot did the girl take? Forty, fifty, sixty percent?"

"No, she didn't take any of the stash, man."

"…none at all?"

"Well, just that one thing."

"What thing?"

"See, from the start she said that she was only after one thing and that we could keep the rest after the heist was done. After that, man, she was gone."

"You know what the thing she wanted is?"

"Just some kooky little cylinder thing. We don't know what it was, man, honest."

"That's it? You got nothing else for me dawg?"

The suspect shakes his head. Cyborg looks to his side. Star fire and Beast boy we're both shaking their heads as well as if to say: this really isn't going anywhere. Cyborg had to agree with them. He sighs out loud. He looks to the officer.

"Okay, bring in the next guy." said Cyborg to the officer by the suspect. He taps the suspect on the shoulder making him stand up from his seat. They both leave the room.

"I do believe we are not achieving much in terms of gathering necessary information," said Starfire.

"I'm with her, dude. We're totally goin' nowhere," concurs Beast Boy.

"Well, let's just get on with these guys and meet up with Rob n' Rae," answered Cyborg, "Hopefully, they got somethin' we could use."

Moments later, the same officer walks in only with a different suspect beside him. The suspect takes a seat at the end of the table. Almost immediately, Beast boy confronts the suspect up close holding a bright lamp head to the man's face.

"Alright punk. I'm gonna be askin' you some questions, ya, hear? Where were you on the night of---"

"DANG IT, B.B.!"

------------------------------------------------

Later that evening. In front of the Police Building

The three teen heroes stand in front of the T-car. Beast Boy, in particular, is looking over the vehicle with much curiosity. From where the changeling is standing he observes that the T-car's side is covered in bullet holes and the tires were patched up in half-hearted effort. He turns to his metallic best friend while pointing at the car.

"Um…Cy, what happened to the T-ca---"

"Don't ask B.B." Cyborg replied. "Just don't ask."

"…ok…this turned out to be one peppy day…Not!"

"Do not be so disheartened my friend," said Starfire "There is still Robin and Raven's venture to meet the unknown caller. Maybe we should try to contact them. Cyborg?"

"Yeah, good idea, girl," replied Cyborg, "It would be nice to know if someone else from this team makin' progress."

Cyborg activates the built in communicator in his arm. A panel opens up uncovering a small LCD screen. He presses a button beside it. Starfire and Beast Boy scoot up to Cyborg's sides to see the screen.

"This is Cyborg. Yo, Rob, Rae, anybody there?"

A few moments of static passes until Robin's image appears on the screen.

"This is Robin, copy."

"Oh, hello Robin. I am ever so delighted to see you!" gleefully said Starfire into the screen.

"Yeah, dude. We missed you. It's just no party with out you and Raven." Beast Boy added.

"Uh…yeah, nice to see you guys too," replied Robin's image. "So, how are things on you side?"

"Lousy," replied Cyborg. "Bank robbers were a complete dead end."

"Sorry to hear. Though I was kinda expecting as much."

"How about you, man? You guys met up with that caller?"

"That we did."

"Aaaaand, did you get anything at all man?"

"Plenty. Let's just say we had a pretty interesting conversation with the guy. It turns out his in pretty deep with who we're dealing with. Makes me glad he's on our side. Anyway, I'll tell you guys all about it back at the tower. We're gonna head back there ourselves too."

"Got it, dawg."

"Hey wait, we don't have to hurry, right?" said Beast Boy. "Why don't we , you know, wait a couple of hours so Raven can finish howling at the moon, or stop hanging for a ceiling, hahahaha!"

"Um…Beast Boy, I hope you realize that Raven is standing right besides me and can hear everything you just said," said Robin's image

"…" Beast Boy sweatdrops.

------------------------------------------------

Somewhere underground. In an empty space of a room occupied only by tall concrete pillars, brightly lit by overhead florescent lights.

"Hiya!"

Sakura throws a punch. Riya catches her fist. He shoves her back. Sakura stumbles back a bit but regains her composure and gets back into a fighting stance. Riya also readies himself for her. Sakura lunges again, with a series of hooks and jabs. Riya slowly walks backwards, blocking and parrying several attempted hits. Sakura delivers a right hook. Instantly, Riya moves tohis left and paries the punch by his sister. The momentum causes Sakura to fall forward a bit, off guard. Riya takes this opportunity to give her a shove with an open palm.

"Hiya!" "Oof!"

Sakura stumbles forward and meets the wall bringing her to an abrupt halt. She looks behind her. Riya is charging at her with his own fist. She runs up the wall as her brother's jab impacts the solid concrete. She kicks off when she deemed herself high enough. She flies over him, lands upside down on her palms, pushes off, and does a series of flips backwards, stopping near what would be the rough center of the room.

She gets into a ready fighting pose. Riya charges again at her. He suddenly jumps into the air, somersaults, and dives into Sakura in a kick. Sakura blocks with her arms. Riya makes contact and propels both of them a sliding distance. He kicks off his sister, which causes her to slide backwards even more, and lands in a crouch.

"Aagh!"

Sakura quickly recover as her brother makes another offensive. He runs towards her delivering blow after blow. Sakura manages to block and parry his attacks. Riya tries to deliver a roundhouse kick to the chest. Sakura reacts instantly and grabs the incoming leg. This catches Riya off guard. Sakura took this opportunity and, with her hold on his leg, throws him straight into a pillar.

"Nnnya!"

Riya flails in the air but quickly recovers. He hits the pillar feet first, kicks off towards another nearby pillar, kicks off again upwards, hits the ceiling with his feet, and kicks off one last time off the ceiling straight down like a missile towards Sakura's position, fist first.

"Yaargh!"

"Sakura reacts by jumping backwards as her brother makes contact with the floor. The impact shakes the whole area and kicks up a big dust cloud. Sakura's vision is impaired for a short moment as the dust slowly subsides. She searches for any sign of him but finds no one exept a cracked floor that is sunken slightly. She turns to look behind her.

"Boo!"

She screeches in surprise and falls on her butt. Standing over her was Riya with an amused expression painted on his face. They stare at each other like that for a moment or two until Sakura breaks the silence between them.

"…showoff…"

Riya reaches a hand out to her. She takes it and he helps her back up.

"Just trying to keep you on your toes, sis." He says.

"Is that really necessary?" She replies

"Yes. We're gonna have to fight harder than we do. We can't let anyone get the jump on us."

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself just fine."

"It didn't seem that way back tech center."

"They got lucky over me, that's all!" A pained look on her face.

Riya moves closer, unaffected by her outcry. He places a hand on her shoulder to console her. She looks up wearily at him and he looks her back.

"No. we have to become better. I won't let the Titans meddle in our business as long as I can help it. And I will always have you back, sis, as long as I can help it."

Her expression brightens up a bit.

"I'm your brother," he continues. "And as your brother, I promise I won't fail neither you, nor _Mother _ever again…"

------------------------------------------------

Author's note: This story is gonna go a lot longer than I originally hoped for. Which is good! I get to write more! Please R&R. Any and all feedbacks are very, very, very much appreciated. Till next update!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Teen Titans, but one day…one day…

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Morning the next day.

The city is just waking up. People flock out of their respective dwellings to greet the morning sun as it rises over the horizon painting the sky in a beautiful golden light. Another day where the sun shines on the thriving metropolis that is Jump City. But not everywhere in this city does the light shine upon, for in an underground lair somewhere in the southern docks…

"We're agreed then," Dr. Volkov said while pointing to his giant computer screen. "This will be our next target location."

Standing behind him were Riya and Sakura. Both were staring up into the screen. The display on the screen showed a digital city map with one particular area glowing red and labeled appropriately.

"Powers Chemical Factory?" Riya read out loud from the screen

"Yes, I've done all the digging I can on this and this is the only place in the city which holds what we need."

"The catalyst…" said Sakura out of the blue.

"Yes child, the catalyst." Responded the doctor.

"When do we go for it?"

"I recommend we wait until nightfall. There is still too much activity going on that could complicate things for us, for you, if you try and retrieve a sample now…"

"tsk! Figures…"

"I hope you are not too disheartened, Sakura?"

"…no, I can wait if I need to. But that doesn't mean I have to like it…! "

"We'll all have to learn to adapt, my child."

"…"

A short moment of silence passes by.

Riya decides to break the uncomfortable silence by speaking up.

"Soooo, what are we gonna do till then, Doctor?"

"I still have to look for one more item, and I am still also in the process of adjusting the core emitter to the proper settings. But I won't be needing you two for anything. I suggest you take this time off to relax."

"…Relax? You sure about that, Doctor?"

"Doesn't really fit our profile." Said Sakura.

"These past few days have been understandably stressful on both of you. It only for the best you two take some time-out." Replied the doctor.

"…I guess your right Doctor. C'mon sis."

"Huh?…oh, yeah…sure." Said Sakura and the two wander off together out of the room.

Vokov turns to his screen and begins typing away at the keyboard. He starts up a new search program and looks for something else. Something all too vital to his plans.

"The puzzle is almost complete." He said in the solitary darkness of the huge room. "Soon, very soon."

Things are taking their time, but he could wait. He could always wait. It's what he's been doing for the past seven years. Ever since that incident in the research lab he's been nearly stripped of everything he has ever had. His pride, honor, and reputation all gone. But seven, long, hard years has allowed him to build the set-up he has now. He had somehow reclaimed everything he had lost and is about to gain even more. It was not easy but he managed. It took a lot of waiting for him to get to this point. Now with his goal only a few short days away, he could always wait.

In the darkness of the huge room, he softly chuckles

"hehehehehehe…"

------------------------------------------------

Morning at Titan's Tower

Here there is an even busier state than that of the outside environment. Following the events of last night, Robin and Raven have fully briefed the rest of the team over breakfast about the visit with Dr. Cannes. The basic topics was on the two antagonist teens, the mastermind, Dr. Volkov, and the master plan which was to resurrect a still unknown entity known only as: 'Maria'.

After that was over they all dispersed to do their respective task to try and prepare for the eventuality of another heist to be perpetrated by the two super teens calling themselves: Arsenic and Lithium.

Cyborg has retreated to the garage along with Beast Boy. There they try to repair the damage made to the T-car sustained during the pursuit across the city.

Raven had retreated to the roof to meditate. She said she was gonna try to reach out and try to locate the two. She was having some trouble though

Robin had confined himself to the main room. He was typing away at the computer running searches for whatever he could use to crack this case. He is not getting any luckier though as failure massages continue to pop-up on the big screen of the main computer. He almost wanted to slam his fist on the keyboard. Behind him, watching, was a concerned Starfire.

If anything has been proven about her through-out all the Titan's escapades, it is the fact that she could not bear to see her friends bear such heavy burdens. Burdens that she would gladly carry in their place, even if those burdens were impossible to carry. Unfortunately, this could also be the source of her weakness as it allows her to be easily played by her enemies. Which is why she needs the Titans as much as they need her. Through the Titan's, she has a family and a safe haven, and through her, the Titan's have reason to hope for a better tomorrow.

She calmly floats over to the couch area and stand beside where Robin is seated.

"Robin?"

Robin is somewhat startled as he was completely focused at his work that he didn't notice the tamaranian princess enter the room just a few moments ago. Her eyes reflect concern.

"Huh?… Oh, hi Starfire. What's up?" he casually greets her.

"I would hope that it is not you stress levels that are 'up', friend Robin." She replies.

"…What do you mean by that, Star?"

"Robin, you have not taken rest since this particular case has started. I feel concern for your condition."

"That's fine, Star, but I'm cool. I just need to finish these searches, run through the evidence, then process all that data, re-research it, search again---"

"Robin, please. You should not strain your self so."

"Don't worry, Star. I told you I'm fine, really." He turns back to his computing but is stopped by Starfire's hand to his shoulder.

"No, Robin!" Starfire responds with a little more authority in her voice this time. "I can not condone such conduct from you any further than this point in time."

"But, S-Star---!"

"Robin, I believe it is time for you to take a 'pill of the chill'"

"…um, that's 'take a chill pill', Star."

"Forgive my vocabulary, Robin, but I believe you still understand my meaning."

Robin falls silent for a while but eventually answers her. "Star, it's not that simple. Those guys, Arsenic and Lithium, got away from us twice already. I simply don't want it to happen again."

"Neither do I, nor the rest of the Titans, Robin. But that is not my point here. You cannot strain yourself so much Robin, surely you see that. Not everything can be done within a course of a day. Not by any of us."

By now, Robin has stood up to face Starfire directly. A look of authority in his face. One usually reserved for the heat of battle and not casual conversations.

"Alright, I know what your saying Star."

"Do you, truly?"

"Yes. You're saying I can't do everything by myself. It's a pretty old tune that I've been hearing all my life Star. I'm kinda getting tired of it."

"If you tire of it so, then why do you not attempt to stop doing it, Robin."

"Because I can't. This is my team and my responsibility. If something goes wrong in the field, I only have myself to blame. I can't afford any more screw-ups like the last few days. I have to make sure all of us are in top shape. If you guys get hurt or do something I'll regret---"

"Robin, I must stop you there!" Starfire suddenly exclaims. Her look of concern now replaced by slight anger. Robin probably said something he shouldn't have and Starfire made it clear.

"Robin, each and everyone on this team recognize your authority as the leader of the Titans. But, please, do not mistake that fact with assuming that you have any responsibility as to how the each of us acts during battle.

"But, Starfire, I---"

"Let me finish, Robin. We recognize you're leadership, please recognize our individuality, Robin.

"…"

"We are all heroes. What we do, we do in the name of peace, justice, and all that is held sacred by the people. We dedicate ourselves fully to these duties, with neither pause nor regret. As such, we accept the risks, dangers, and consequences entailed by these said duties. Though we may accept them with fear and anxiety, we do so with pride and courage at heart."

"…Starfire…"

"I guess what I am trying to convey, Robin ,is that all the Titans are capable of dictating our own action. We are all entitled to act according to the manner we personally see fitting our situation, Robin. You, of all people, should not feel responsible for our conduct."

"Star, I just…want to be able to trust in my own team…and in myself… to do the right thing."

"We do trust in you, Robin." Starfire brings both her hands to rest on the Boy Wonder's shoulder blades in console. "As for the team, maybe you should give less trust to the Titans and give more to each and everyone of the Titans. Do you understand?"

Robin doesn't respond for a while. But slowly a smile forms on his face. "Yeah, Starfire I understand you." He said sincerely. Starfire's anger gives way to a look of joy and relief as Robin continues.

"I almost lost sight of what was important. I almost forgot why I started the Titans in the first place. I almost forgot about all of you. I guess I've been trying to carry the world on my shoulders again."

"Yes you were, Robin. But now, you must learn to stop trying to do so. We are not godly, Robin. We must all accept our limits"

"Maybe…I still have a lot to learn, huh, Star?"

"We all have plenty more needed to be learned, Robin. But that is why we are all here. Is it not the duty of friends to give knowledge to one another?"

"That it is, Star."

"Wonderful!" Starfire has returned to her usual jubilant self once again. "I am glad we have reached this agreement."

"Me too, Star. To be honest."

"Then please excuse me as I wish to see our other friends in their respective endeavors and see if I can be of assistance."

"Sure thing, Starfire, I won't stop you."

Starfire floats up on makes her way to the door. Halfway there she in interrupted by Robin.

"Oh! and Starfire."

She looks behind her to acknowledge the Boy Wonder.

"…Thank you…very much…" Robin said with a smile

"…You need not mention it, friend Robin." Starfire said, returning his smile with one of her own. She then continues onward and exits the room leaving Robin behind.

Robin stands there lingering for a while. He turns to look at the computer screen, thinks about it for a moment, and shrugs.

"Well, it's not like I was making any progress." He said. "I think I'll go work-out in the gym till' lunch."

------------------------------------------------

In some anonymous location. In some unknown timeline.

A much younger boy holds a 9mm pistol forward with two hands. He walks cautiously down a dimly lit hallway of sorts. Gone were his usual combat fatigues and he is simply dressed in a plain shirt and slacks with some slip-on shoes. He holds the gun at ready as if in the hunt for some thing.

He turns a corner. Something pops out of the wall. It took him only a fraction of a second to recognize the object as a flat wooden target depicting an enemy soldier supposedly aiming at him. And it took him that same fraction of time to act accordingly. He fires the gun twice hitting the target in the chest and head.

He then ignores it and continues down the hallway. He turns another corner. This time, two targets pop out. It takes him less than a second to eliminate both 'threats' with two shots. He continues onward.

He reaches a door. He moves to the side and opens it with one hand while keeping his pistol aimed with the other. As soon as the door fully opens, a target pops up from the floor in front of him. He gives it three rushed shots to the chest. He moves around it and forward.

He stands in what would be city streets if it were real. But the surroundings looked akin to something from an old Hollywood movie set. A bad one at that.

Suddenly, from the window of a 'store front', two more targets appear. He expertly eliminates them breaking the glass window they were behind of as well. Then suddenly to his side three more targets appear behind three respective 'windows' of varying height. He takes careful aim at each and pops everyone of them in the head and chest.

He ejects the bullet clip from his pistol and replaces it with a new one. He moves forward across the 'street' and in front of a building with a door on it. Cautiously, while ever keeping his weapon prone, He opens the door and proceeds inside. A short hallway leads to a dimly lit room that would pass for an office space complete with a desk and chairs.

The moment he sets foot in the space. Five targets pop-up nearly at once. He wastes no time and takes rushed shots in the general direction of each target turning them all into Swiss cheese.

A moment later, a final target appears from behind the desk. He doesn't even try to look at it before he unloads a final round to the targets head.

A few seconds later. A loud buzzing sound was heard coupled with blinding red light. The boy is somewhat startled at this and hopelessly looks upward. Then the lights turn bright white lighting up the room and a voice booms out of a hidden P.A. system.

"Nice work, lad, you did it again…"

The boy inspects his work. Most of the targets that depicted enemy soldiers have been properly executed. But the target behind the desk depicted a small girl holding a bunny rabbit…now with a bullet hole in her forehead.

"I'm sorry." Said the boy, as if the voice from the P.A. could hear him. And, apparently, it can.

"Sorry is not gonna cut it, my boy. You have great potential. But there is a differences between recognizing that potential and utilizing it."

"I promise I'll do better."

"No promises made dear lad. Just give us the results we want. Don't you want your mother to be proud of you. Riya…?"

------------------------------------------------

Riya opens his eyes. He blinks once or twice to get that misty sight you get after just waking up from a dream. He takes a few moments to catch up with the present and remember where he is.

It was late in the afternoon already. The sun was low to the west behind him. The city is in it's usual bustling afternoon pace. The sound of traffic was everywhere but not to loud from his perspective. He was after all about forty stories up on the roof of one of the many skyscrapers littering the downtown area.

Ah yes, he remembers it clearly now.

He was seated on the gravel of the roof with his back resting on an air-conditioning unit. He looks downward. He finds his sister, Sakura, lying down on her side on the gravel and resting her head on his thighs like it was a pillow. Peacefully slumbering away. He can't help but smile at her.

They were up there simply relaxing. The past few days have been quite stressful, and though they don't show it, any form of rest, they welcome. Even if they keep insisting that all they want is to be done with the experiment as quickly as possible. They cannot deny that they are still mortal.

So here they lie. Simply taking a time out. Riya ponders about what he should do next. He doesn't ponder for very long until he decides to simply go back to sleep. After all, if he gets lucky, he'll dream about a few more memories of the old days before the sun sets.

------------------------------------------------

The sun has set and nighttime has arrived. The Powers Chemical Factory.

The central lobby. A sole security desk stands in the center, empty of occupants. The silence is eerie to say the least. It was after hours so the staff has now been sent home and there was no particular nightshift in the building this night. Except for security personnel. So where are they exactly?

A distance away down a hall a pitter-patter of footsteps can be heard. A guard appears from around the corner and into the lobby. He sees it empty. Curiosity paints his face.

"Niles?" he calls out but receives no response.

He moves towards the desk in the center of the room.

"Niles, where are you, man!" He calls out another time as he is moving. "You can't leave the desk empty like that, man, The supervisor's gonna kill us."

He reaches the desk and looks over. His eyes grow wide in shock. On the floor was another guard, unconscious and drooling.

"Niles!"

The guard goes around the desk to his comrade. He checks him out. Thankfully, the downed guard is still alive, just completely out of it. The guard feels around Niles' head. A bump becomes apparent. And also he notices one very disturbing thing. The security personnel ID card that allows for all access to the facility, which is always pinned to the breast pocket, is missing. The guard comes to one conclusion: Intruders.

He wastes no time and presses the hidden alarm button under the desk. It blinks red.

------------------------------------------------

In the chemical storage building. Two familiar figures casually pace through the moderately lit hallways. The lights were supposed to be for security on patrol. But tonight it serves to aid someone else.

They reach a large pair of double doors at the end of the hall. It is locked, but they knew that already. A card reader on the wall indicates with a blinking light that it needs some kind of authorized access to open the doors. Arsenic holds out a security ID card and swipes it at the corresponding slot on the reader. It buzzes and a small LCD screen displays in red: "ACCESS DENIED." Arsenic looks suspiciously at the device. He tries the ID card again. But receives the same response.

"What's wrong?" Asked Lithium, standing beside him.

"Funny." He said "This thing worked all the way up to this point." He looks over the card and finds nothing wrong with it. Then a notion enters his head. He turns around looking up the wall. He finds a small red object that would be the alarm indicator. It was blinking red.

"Damn! The silent alarm's been tripped." He said and looks to his sister. "All the doors are locked now and can't be opened using security cards."

"Plus, you know who's probably on their way here right now. What should we do, bro?"

"It doesn't matter. We can take them out if we need to."

"Alright then." Lithium rears up and fan kicks the doors which fly off their hinges to the room beyond.

"…well that solves the 'no access' problem."

They both enter the room this time in a faster pace.

------------------------------------------------

"Titans, this is Robin. It's confirmed that the alarm comes from the Powers Chem Factory."

Robin rides his R-cycle down the road heading into the downtown industrial district. He speaks into the built-in communicator in his helmet.

"Everybody get there as soon as you can!"

"Were on it, Rob!" Cyborg's voice.

"Hey, anybody wanna take a guess on who our home wreckers are?" Beast Boy's voice.

"I think that's what's on all our minds, Beast Boy…" Raven's voice.

"Well if it is those two then we all have to be extra careful." Robin speaks up again. "We can't underestimate them again or they'll wipe the floor with us. Again."

"Robin, this is Starfire. I would just like to inquire---"

"It's okay, Star…I trust you."

"…Affirmative then. Starfire out."

"Say what, dawg?" Cyborg's voice, again.

"Never mind about that, Cy, just make sure you guys get there."

He terminates the transmission and accelerates the R-cycle even more. He thunders past traffic towards his desired destination just a few miles ahead.

------------------------------------------------

The room they enter is a large chemical warehouse that could fit over a hundred cars. But in this case fits over a hundred shelves of chemical samples sealed behind sliding glass windows. All of which are contained in sealed glass cylinders with labeled stickers stuck to them on the bottom. Like a library for veils of unknown liquids as it would seem, with shelves just as high and the spaces between them a lot wider. Lithium speaks up to address an obvious problem of theirs.

"So, exactly which one of these things in the one we want, anyway?"

"Doc says it should be labeled this:" He pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket. "CATALYST 719"

"…fitting label."

"Lets look for it fast. Before you-know-who shows up."

They get to work by splitting up and searching their own respective sides of the room. The both travel upon row after row of chemical veils scanning the different labels stuck on each one. But they are taking a considerably long time. Understandable though given that they have to search through almost a thousand veils. The search, and search, and search, and search, and keeps on searching until Arsenic calls out.

"Yo, sis!"

Lithium turns her head to look.

"I got it!" Arsenic holds up a glass cylinder containing a semi-clear pinkish flued. It was labled in clear black and white: CATALYST 719. Lithium smiles. She moves to the middle aisle to where her brother waits.

"Good." She says "Now let's get out of here befor---"

Bang! 

Another pair of double doors from the other end of the room bursts open. Five very familiar superheroes appear from behind it.

"Arsenic! Lithium! You two have a choice to surrender now or make this a lot harder than it's suppose to be!" exclaims the Titan's leader.

Arsenic and Lithium both narrow their eyes to signify their annoyance. Arsenic pockets away the small glass cylinder to his tactical vest. Robin notices and immediately reacts in his own personal way.

"You! What do you have there!"

"Do you really think I'll just tell you what this is if you ask like that?" Arsenic responds ever so neutrally

"You will pay us proper respects, villain!" A heated Starfire exclaims.

"Make me…"

The Titans were now getting into their respective fighting poses. The two robbers follow suite. Both parties have a staring contest in the middle aisle.

"You won't escape this time!" said Robin.

"You never learn do you, hero boy?" responded Lithium.

At that precise moment, Arsenic throws something to the ground. Then both he and his sister automatically turn their heads away. The Titans were caught off-guard and found themselves blinded by a sudden flash of light.

After the Titans regain their sights, the first thing they see is the villainous duo charging at them. Arsenic grabs hold of Robin and Starfire's arms and tosses them to his left into some chemical shelves, knocking the shelves over. Lithium fan kicks Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven in one go sending them to the opposite direction of Robin and Starfire, knocking over a few shelves sending them to the floor. Non of the veils broke yet due to the specialized glass material of the containers. The Titans try to get up but are immediately met by offensive attacks from the duo.

On one side.

Robin and Arsenic duke it out with a blur of martial arts moves and maneuvers. They do their best to hit the other but go nowhere fast. Robin tries a different tactic. Robin manages to lock arms with Arsenic effectively holding him in place. Giving Starfire an opportunity.

The Tamaranian attempted to throw an energized punch. Arsenic jumps off the ground and kicks off of Robin putting him on the ground while Arsenic, in turn jumps backwards and flips to evade Starfire's punch. He lands on his feet and takes a fighting stance. Starfire prepares a starbolt.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Said Arsenic. "Where in a chemical warehouse, remember."

Starfire's eyes grow wide as if just remembering that fact. They were inside a chemical warehouse filled with hundreds of veils of unknown chemistry. What are the chances that some of those chemicals are flammable?"

She immediately represses the starbolt. Arsenic takes this moment to charge her and elbows her stomach, tackle her to the floor, and flip off of her grounded body. He lands on his feet. Behind him Robin has recovered and has now armed himself with his bo-staff.

Robin charges at Arsenic's prone form. Arsenic barely had enough time to see the incoming swing from the bo-staff and block accordingly with his arms. Robin swings about and hits Arsenic on the square of his back forcing him to his knees.

"Argh!"

Robin twirls his staff about and makes a downward swing at Arsenic's grounded figure. He counters by blocking upward. Then in one quick move, Arsenic grabs the bo staff, pulls Robin towards him, places his foot on the boy wonder's chest and flips him in a somersault. Arsenic gets up and prepares himself in a fighting stance. Robin and Starfire groggily recover.

Robin charges again with his bo staff at ready. He swings horizontally, Arsenic ducks. He swings vertially, Arsenic sways to the side. He thrusts forward, Arsenic parries with his arm and attempt a punch at Robin's temple. Robin sees it coming and drops low to avoid. From this position he sweeps kick Arsenic's legs from under him sending the teen to the floor on his back.

"Dah!"

Arsenic tries to recover but as he looks upward towards the ceiling, he sees Starfire bearing down on him with her fists at ready. Arsenic rolls out of the way and Starfire's fist meet bare floor. Arsenic flips back to a standing position and promptly delivers a kick to Starfire's figure, The girl is sent crashing into robin and both teens sprawl over the ground.

"Oof!" "Aagh!"

Arsenic pants in place to catch his breathe while the two heroes get up once again in fighting stances. Arsenic prepares his mitts. He is now the one who goes on the offensive. He charges the two heroes, who prepare themselves. But arsenic pulls a fast one on them.

Just as he is about to reach the two heroes, Arsenic drops to the floor and slides down feet first in between Robin and Starfire. He ends up behind them. Arsenic quickly gets up and shoves the two from behind. Robin and Starfire are sent face first to the floor.

"Oof! "Oof!"

Arsenic moves to the sied and sweeps kick one of the still standing chemical shelves. It topples over the prone figure of Starfire. The tamaranian girl manages to turn over just in time to stop the fall of the shelf with her hands. But even with her alien super strength, she still struggles somewhat at pushing the very heavy shelf off of her, effectively pinning her to the floor.

"Starfire!" Robin cries out.

He was about to get up and help his teammate but sees Arsenic bearing down on him from the air. Robin flips backward just as Arsenics knee puts a hole in the floor. Robin continues to flip backwards like a gymnastics athlete giving him some distance between himself and his foe. He lands about a dozen yards away from Arsenic. The boy wonder then unloads four birdarangs at his enemy. Arsenic quickly draws his knife and deflects all but one on the projectiles which nicked him on the cheek.

"Ugh!"

A cut forms on his cheek that draws a little blood. Arsenic does not show any signs of acknowledgeing it though. Robin reaches into his utility belt again and pulls out a handful of flash bomb pellets which he throws to the floor in front of Arsenic. The pellets explode on impact, Arsenic is temporarily blinded.

"Dah!"

Robin then grabs a grappling hook, launches it to the ceiling where the thing hooks to. He reels himself upward but not totally all the way. He uses the slack rope to swing himself a great momentum feet first to his dazed opponent. Arsenic sees Robin coming, but too late. The boy wonder plows into Arsenic with all his weight and the added momentum of the swing. Arsenic in sent sprawling into the ground.

"Aargh!"

Robin lands a few feet away. At this same point, Starfire has finally managed to lift the chemical shelf off of her. She gets up, fixes her messed up hair, and joins Robin by his side.

"Had enough?" asked Robin.

Arsenic groggily recovers, wipes the blood from his lip, and stands at ready with his knife. He doesn't show any hint of being tired or worried at all. In fact, he grins slightly.

"Far from it…" Arsenic charges at them again. Robin and Starfire follow suite.

Meanwhile.

Lithium jumps over a charging green mountain goat as it tried to barrel her down. She lands in a crouch and looks upward. Raven is chanting.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

The dark girl shoots bolts of black energy at Lithium's prone figure. Lithium evades by flipping backwards as the dark bolts impact at the spots where she would have been standing. Lithium lands solidly as Raven stops blasting away. Lithium is then grabbed from behind by Beast Boy in Grizzly Bear mode. He locks his claws around her in a tight bear hug.

Lithium tries to struggle against Beast Boy's embrace but finds that she can only separate his paws just a few inches apart. But she found out that that was enough. She slips under Beast Boy's grasp who soon finds he is gripping empty space. Litium kneels down, turns about, hops up, and kicks the green Grizzly in the nose. Beast Boy is thrown back on his butt transforming back into his elfin form, holding his nostrils in pain.

"Oww, man!" he said "Why always the nose!"

Lithium turns to see raven chanting again in preparation to make another attack.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

A chemical shelf is telekinetically lifted into the air about twenty feet, above Lithium. It falls earthward. Lithium dodges to the side. Raven lifts another shelf and does the same procedure. Lithium narrowly dodges again to the side. Raven lifts up one two shelves at once and prepares to sandwich the female assailant with them. Cyborg, from the sidelines, suddenly shouted out.

"Raven, no!" Cyborg gets Ravens attention. "Those chemicals are dangerous, watch it!"

Raven suddenly realized what she was doing. Though the containers are made of a specially toughened glass, if even just one of these veils pop open, who knows what will happen. She gently places the shelves back down on the floor. Lithium sees this as an opportunity. She jumps up to Raven's height and delivers a downward kick to the shoulder.

"Aargh!"

Raven falls to the ground. Lithium lands a few feet from her. Raven gets up while cluthing her left shoulder in pain. Lithium charges at her again, but was interrupted mid-way by Cyborg's fist coming at her. Lithium barely dodges the attack by ducking downwards. She hops bak giving her some distance between her and the metallic hero. Cyborg gets into a fighting pose, Lithium does the same.

Lithium charges at Cyborg throwing a flurry of kicks, jabs, and hooks. Her figure allowed for greats speed and agility. Cyborg on the other hand had little choice other than to block with his arms forward. Lithium pulls a fast one. She slides in between the Titan's legs and sweep kicks him from behind. Cyborg is caught off guard and falls face first into the floor.

"Yaagh---doh!"

Beast Boy gets up once again. He charges at Lithium who readies herself. Mid way there, he jumps into the air and transforms into a huge Boa Constrictor. Lithium is caught off guard by this and the huge green Boa coils around the girl's torso, robbing her of air and arm movement. Beast Boy figured that he could probably knock her out if he could squeeze the breath out of her. Lithium struggles against the Boa's death grip but finds it futile. She tries another tactic. While her legs are still free she runs to the side and rams her body to a still standing chemical shelf. The impact affects Beast Boy most of all as he is forced to let go of her from the shock.

Beast Boy drops to the floor and Lithium catches her lost breath. Raven, back in the air attacks with another bolt of black energy. Lithium ducks just in time to avoid the attack which hits bear floor. Lithium grabs Beast Boy's grounded snake figure and tosses it across the room into Raven's floating figure. Beast Boy returns to elfin form in mid-air and flails his arms madly. Raven saw him coming but couldn't evade in time. They impact each other and land on the floor.

"Yaa-a-a-a--- argh!" "Oof!"

Cyborg, now recovered, is again charging to attack Lithium. He rears up a fist and throws it at the girl. Lithium saw it in time enough to defend herself. Amazingly, she grabs Cyborg's fist and stops it in its tracks. The two have the exact opposite of a tug-of-war. Lithium jumps up and lands behind Cyborg, presumably to trip the hero yet again. But Cyborg was expecting this and counters with an elbow to the rear of his form. It nails Lithium in the gut. She is sent crashing into a chemical shelf, shaking the contents into rattles of glass.

"Kaff!"

Cyborg faces her and prepares another fighting stance. Lithium regains her composure and readies her self. They have a face off for a few moments.

"You know, it's really against my policy to beat up ladies." Said Cyborg. "But, you are really pushin' my buttons, girl!"

"You have yet to see exactly how hard I can push!" Lithium responds in a challenging voice.

She draws her dual knives. She charges at Cyborg. Cyborg defends himself. Lithium throws slash after slash at the cybernetic hero. Cyborg is again left with little other choices than to block her attacks. Sparks fly as Lithium continues to slash away. She jumps into the air and performs a downward stab with both her knives. Cyborg hops back to avoid the attack. The knives hit concrete.

Cyborg quickly transforms his arm to a sonic cannon. He sets it into stun mode so as not to do too much damage if he hits the girl, or do something he'll regret at the off chance he hits one oh these chemical shelves. He aims at Lithium's kneeling figure and let's out a small blast. Lithium gets hit in the gut.

"Argh!"

She slides back but is not completely stunned. She looks back up with anger at Cyborg who prepares another shot. Lithium knew enough about Cyborg from the briefings given to her and Arsenic by Dr. Volkov. She knew his weakness lies in the construct of his limbs.

Cyborg lets off another shot. Lithium evades to the side and rushes at Cyborg. The metal hero tries another shot. Lithium, this time, jumps forward and over the shot and lands on Cyborg's extended cannon limb. She Stabs down both her knives at the space where the cybernetic forearm is connected to the elbow. Cyborg is caught by surprise. Like mini-crowbars, she twists and pulls on her embedded knives effectively ditaching the limb from its owner.

"Aaarrgh!"

The detached sonic cannon limb bounces on the floor a few times. It rolls to a stop. Then suddenly, due to some kind of malfunction, It lets off a shot in full blast which hits a chemical shelf. The following results were predictably not good.

BOOOOOM! 

The chemical shelf violently explodes, spraying flaming liquid all over the place. The explosion rocks the whole room and knocks down a few shelves open, sprawling veils of chemicals to the floor. This in turn causes a chain reaction as veil after veil explodes from the sheer heat of the flames.

The Titans and the two thieves are shaken to the ground. Lithium in particular is caught off guard as the fire trail ignites to collective contents of the shelf a few feet to her side. This causes another violent explosion. The sheer force of the explosion sends Lithium airborne and crashing into the far wall.

"Aargh---dahh!"

Lithium falls to the ground, completely knocked out.

On the other side of the room, another violent explosion causes another chemical shelf to come crashing down on Arsenic. He his caught of guard and does the only thing he can do which was drop to ground. The shelf does not crush him but instead lies at angle since the other end is supported by an already toppled shelf. This effectively traps Arsenic in a small space under the newly fallen shelf.

More and more exploding veils sets the whole room on fire. Robin recovers just enough to issue orders to evacuate.

"Titans, This place is coming down!" he exclaims over the fire. "Everyone out of here now!"

"I verily agree!" shouted Starfire.

Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg bolt out from the doors they used as an entrance. Robin follows suite but is interrupted.

"Dude, wait!" Beast Boy exclaims from the side. Robin looks to see. Beast Boy is kneeling over the unconscious figure of Lithium. The changeling is checking out her vital signs and finds a pulse.

"We can't leave her." Said Robin "Take her in, Beast Boy!"

The animorph gives him a quick nod and transforms into a Gorilla. He picks up the unconscious body in one meaty arm and exits the room. Robin lingers a few moments, looking back, apparently searching for the male assailant. He scans the burning room as best he can.

Another explosion knocks forward a shelf in front of the double doors where Robin was standing. Robin dives back to avoid the thing. He lands on the floor of the hallway at the same time as a crash is heard. The Boy Wonder looks back behind him and sees the door barred by burning debris. No way of entry whatsoever.

"Damn the luck." He said. There's no way he can apprehend Arsenic now. He turns back and runs after his Teammates down the hall.

------------------------------------------------

Back inside the chemical storage.

"Rrraargh!"

Riya manages to finally lift the heavy shelf off his figures. He stands up groggily. He frantically scans the room. It would seem that he was the only one left in the room. There was no sign of the Titans, or…

"Sis?" he calls out. No response.

"Sakura?" he calls out again. Nothing gives its presence to him.

"Sakura?" he screams out, knowing fully no one will answer him. He looks towards the entrance that the Titans took to escape. A burning chemical shelf completely blocks the passage. He knew in his mind that his sister was probably knocked out and taken away by the Titans.

He is silent. He has lost her to the Titans. He couldn't fulfill his promise to her. He absolutely hated himself at that moment. He clenched his fists in anger, more towards himself and the Titans. He swore to himself he would redeem his mistake. One way or another, he would prove himself once again.

"Hang in there sis, I'm comin' for ya." Said Riya in a barely audible voice. "I swear it."

He turns around and leaves through the exit on the other side.

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Author's Note: Boy this took a while to write. I wanted to put in lot's of action. Hope you liked it. Comments, suggestions, violent reactions, send them all. I want them. Please Read and Review. Next chapter will go up soon enough.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own you-know-who.

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Somewhere, sometime, not known. In a large brightly lit room.

A young girl dressed simply in a tank top and slacks twirls a combat rod in each hand while standing at a ready position. She was slowly being surrounded by three men in heavily padded suits and gear that made them look like they were from some kind of bomb squad. Each man had a short combat rod of his own in one hand held at ready. If the young girl in the center was worried, she didn't show it.

Suddenly, one of the men charges the girl, his rod swinging down. The girl sees this and promptly blocks with one rod, stopping the weapon on its way down. She then used her other rod to hit the man in the chest which causes him to bend over in pain and give a muffled cry. She finishes him off momentarily with a swift kick to the face, bringing him to the floor on his back.

A second man makes an attack, his rod swinging horizontally at her from behind the girl. She notices and jumps up high into the air and into a graceful back flip over her assailant as his weapon hits thin air. While coming down, the girl straitens her self in an upright position and swings down both her rods into the mans corresponding shoulders. The man yelps in pain and is brought down on his knees. She lands and fan kicks the man from behind sending him face-first to the ground.

The last man makes for the girl head-on. He swings his staff madly at her trying to get a hit in. The girl easily blocks and parries each attempted hit with inhuman speed and ease. He makes a last attempt by swinging down, the girl effortlessly blocked the attack with both her rods in the shape of an 'x'. She then uses the rods to toss away the man's weapon to the side, hops into the air so she meets the man, who is about three feet taller than her, at eye level. While there she promptly delivers a foot to his face sending him a good distance backwards.

The girl stands up properly in the middle of the room. She smiles proudly at her work. A static sound comes from the air followed by an electronic voice of someone unknown.

"Good work, child," said the voice. "Sergeant, you and your men may leave."

The three men groggily picked themselves up and more or less limped out of the room through a door somewhere along the wall. The girl is left alone in the large room. The voice from the hidden speakers starts up again.

"Excellent display, child," said the voice in a less than proud tone.

"It was nothing at all Doc!" the girl exclaimed proudly.

"That right, child, it was nothing."

The girl's smile gradually fades. Curiosity quivers within her as she cannot grasp the meaning behind that last statement made by her unknown talker.

"But…I don't understand…" she said.

"Child…do not pride yourself with this. You have greater promise than this, I assure you. Things will only get much tougher from now on. Much tougher."

"But doctor, I don't think I could---"

"You must, child, it is your purpose. Try as you might to will against it, you can not deny it, Sakura."

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Lithium groggily wakes up with a long, agonizing groan. She takes a moment to survey her current situation and form some kind of conclusion.

First and foremost, she was alive. That's always a good first sign, she thought. She wasn't in any pain either. In fact, she couldn't feel anything at all. She could barely feel her body's presence. She was also a little dizzy like she was on alcohol but not totally wasted as she can still somehow create concrete thought. She could tell she was in a very gray room. Walls were gray, floor was gray, and ceiling was gray except for a single florescent bulb. Depth perception hardly existed in this room.

She tried moving her arms and legs but found she could not even wiggle a finger. Even then she had enough movement from her head to see that her limbs were bound. She could also tell she was in a metal chair, specifically designed to constrain anybody who deserves to sit in it. She makes another effort to move her limbs. It was to no avail. She had none of her strength at all.

"It's no use."

A voice emanated from the emptiness of the room. Lithium darts her eyes wildly from side to side. She spots Robin, in his usual red, green, and yellow costume. He was standing just a few feet in front of her.

"You've been given a sedative," he said. "It is specially formulated to severely limit motor functions. We all know how much stronger you are from the average girl and we didn't want to take any chances."

Lithium's face tightens in an expression of anger towards the boy wonder.

"It's no use putting up any resistance." Robin continued. "It's best that you cooperate with us and make this a lot easier. For me and you."

She barely reacts to him and keeps her staring eyes on the hero.

"First of all I wanna ask you about the item you stole from the Roscher bank the other day. Tell me what it is. And what does it have to do with what Arsenic stole from that convoy from the freeway."

Silence from the bound girl in the chair.

"…Ok, how about that device that you two took from the Garland tech center? Care to tell me what it is or how you're planning to use it?"

Again, silence.

"…What about yesterday? What were you two after in the Powers Chemical Factory? Some kind of bio weapon, or maybe a chemical agent."

She mumbles something to soft to be understandable.

"What was that?" Robin leans a bit closer.

"I said: go screw yourself!" she replied in a low tone.

Robin sighs exasperatingly. So far everything was going as he had expected it to proceed. Which is to say: going absolutely nowhere, fast. He knew Lithium was not the kind of criminal to simply pay a hero due respect and cooperate accordingly. Then again, what criminal would be of that kind if he/she was truly a criminal.

"Besides," The girl continues. "If anything, you probably know what the hell those things are, anyways"

"Indeed I do," he replied. "However, I'm a detective. My principles dictate that these things are not enough. I still need a motive here and you are the only person I have that could give me that motive is you."

"You can take your principles and shove it up your---"

"Listen here, you! You've been found guilty in about five major felonies: armed robbery, breaking and entering, high jacking, grand theft auto, and assault with lethal weapons. Now we have enough to throw the book on both you and your partner, Arsenic."

"I don't care."

"You don't seem to understand your situation here."

"You're the one who doesn't _my_ situation here, hero boy!"

Robin is taken aback by her sudden outburst. Lithium gradually lowers her head avoiding the teen hero's glance completely. She then softly mumbles in an almost inaudible voice:

"Nobody ever understands…"

Robin simply stands there. Neither of the two teens budges an inch for what would seem like an eternity. Finally, Robin decides to break the ice with his trump card.

"We know about Project: Maria." Said Robin.

Lithium's head darts back up instantly. Her wide blue and green eyes staring at the boy wonder's masked eyes. Her expression shows utter shock at the notion that anyone outside herself, her brother and the Doctor could have known about their plans. How could he have known of this? Surely neither her nor her brother could have given that information away. They had been so careful.

"How…could you---?"

"We have our sources. Let's leave it at that."

Lithium's surprise slowly transforms back to her previous glare of anger. It's as if she knows what he is going to say next. And she knows she's just gonna hate him even more for what he is about to say.

"So, you see," Robin continues. "We do understand…"

"Like hell you do!"

Robin is again taken aback as Lithium continues.

"How the hell could you possibly understand anything about us! You don't know jack about us! What we've been through, what we were made to do! You'll never understand! None of you ever will!"

By now Robin was matching her anger. He was getting extremely frustrated at the progress of this would-be interrogation. He was low on temper to start with.

"Ok, so maybe I will never understand you completely. But let me ask you now to try and understand_ me_. I know enough to see that you are willing to do anything to achieve your goal. And I see that as a potential threat to the lives of innocent civilians. And as long as that is my view, I cannot tolerate any more of your shenanigans. Do you understand me?"

Lithium was now angry for a new reason. Robin has associated her and her brother with something they are not. Another form of his misunderstanding of them, once again. She decides to make her point verbally clear to him.

"We're not killers if that's what your saying…"

"Yeah, sure your not."

"We. Are. Not. Killers! You fascist little prick!"

Robin is silenced for a moment. Something, a little part in the back of his mind, was somewhat telling him to believe her. He shakes it off and continues on.

"Nevertheless, you people are still criminals. And we cannot tolerate that no matter what the circumstance. I hope I'm extra clear on that."

"…Whatever you say."

"I'll come back later. When you've cooled off a bit."

"You ought to speak for yourself, hero boy."

Robin found himself really annoyed, for some reason, on that little pet name Lithium was using on him. He decides to make an exit before he fills up with more steam. He turns and makes for a barely visible door on the wall. Lithium offers no response to this gesture. Half-way to the door, Robin stops and turns back at the girl.

"You should really consider cooperating with us, ya know," he said in a much calmer tone. "Who knows? We might even be able to help you… and your brother."

"…I doubt it." Lithium replies simply and bluntly.

Robin decides not to push the subject any further. He turns again and leaves the room completely. Lithium is left alone. Her anger and frustration completely vanishes from her face as soon as she confirmed she was alone. She drops her head down to the floor. A tear drop or two lands on her lap.

"Brother, please come for me…" she softly mumbles into the emptiness of the room.

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Down at the nearby parking lot. Inside the T-car.

Cyborg was sitting quietly in the driver seat. His right arm, now fully reattached from yesterday, had wires coming out of it and was connected to the T-car's computer terminal in the dashboard. The little LCD screen was displaying : Running Diagnostic Scan… 67. It would seem that Cyborg was simply making sure his arm was in proper condition. After all, after the incident from yesterday, who could blame him.

This wasn't the first time his cybernetic body has shown its vulnerability. He vaguely recalls of such incidents such as the Titans' first meeting with the mechanical genius, Fixit and his last run-in with Brother Blood in the east coast. And, of coarse, he remembers the latest event oh so clearly…

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Cyborg lets off another shot. Lithium evades to the side and rushes at Cyborg. The metal hero tries another shot. Lithium, this time, jumps forward and over the shot and lands on Cyborg's extended cannon limb. She Stabs down both her knives at the space where the cybernetic forearm is connected to the elbow. Cyborg is caught by surprise. Like mini-crowbars, she twists and pulls on her embedded knives effectively detaching the limb from its owner.

"Aaarrgh!"

The detached sonic cannon limb bounces on the floor a few times. It rolls to a stop. Then suddenly, due to some kind of malfunction, It lets off a shot in full blast which hits a chemical shelf. The following results were predictably not good.

_**BOOOOOM!**_

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No-one has ever really questioned Cyborg's worth as a Titan. No-one except himself. Moreover he has even, for a few periods in time, questioned is worth as a human.

Before his 'accident' which had been the primary cause of his current state, he was, above anything else, an athlete. He loved pushing himself and extending his limits, giving a hundred and ten percent. He had always dreamed of athletic stardom and one day be dubbed the best in the world. Sadly though, those dreams were shattered when certain circumstances had forced him to live in a new body, with built-in limits. And instead of achieving athletic stardom, he had heroic legendry shoved into his face.

Ever since then, he has strived to prove himself to the team and everyone else that he is not just some kind of cripple who cannot do past what was built into him. He still kept on pushing his limits. Even as he brings himself at the edges of catastrophes, he still kept on pushing. If not to prove to anyone else but to himself that he was still worth a little hope.

But he can rest easy for the meantime. He has a new family in the Titans, after all. And like any kind of family, he has somebody to catch him if he falls. For that, he is thankful enough.

The computer terminal beeps. The screen reads: Diagnostic Scan Complete. Results: no problems found… Cyborg smiles at that. Fist bit of good news he's heard of all day. He pushes a button on the terminal and the wires connected to his arm automatically detached and reeled back into their respective chambers. Cyborg raises his arm and gives it a once-over.

"Good as new," he said. "now if only Rob and the gang would get done already…"

As if on cue, The computer terminal sounds of that familiar Titan's jingle. Cyborg pushes the button to answer, Robin's face predictably appears in the screen.

"Yo, Rob!" enthusiastically greeted the metallic Titan. "How's it hangin'?"

"Well, as usual, she didn't cooperate." Robin's image replied.

"Were expecting any less, dawg?"

"Guess not, really. Anyways if you're done with your diagnostics, meet us up here in the thirteenth floor briefing room. I'm calling a discussion on things, alright?"

"No sweat, man. I'm on may way."

Cyborg terminates the call. He sighs into the empty atmosphere. He then proceeds to open his door and get out. After he closed his door again, he pressed a button on his arm and The T-car gave a usual car alarm chirping sound. Cyborg turns around and walks away from his prized vehicle and heads for the large structure ahead of him.

The JCPD Central Headquarters.

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In the secrete underground lair, some hours ago…

"The JCPD Central Headquarters…" said Riya in a monotone. He stares in to a digital map as shown in the very large computer screen in front of him. One particular site was blinking on and off continuously.

"Yes, there." Dr. Volkov said, standing right next to Riya. "As soon as you told me that the Titan's managed to capture your sister, I ran a search for her through-out all the possible places they could take her."

"And you are sure she is here?"

"Absolutely."

Riya stands staring into the digital map on the screen. Silently pondering. Most likely any possible plan he could use to get his sister out of there as soon as possible. Surely the Titan's would be there, not to mention a formidable number of Jump City's finest law enforcers. This was going to be far from easy.

"But, of coarse," the Doctor suddenly spoke up again, "I wouldn't have to go through all this trouble if you had not been so careless, boy." The Doctor stares with great disappointment into Riya who meets his glare with his green and blue eyes.

"I told you, Dr. Volkov, it was an accident."

"No excuses child! You two are better than this."

"I promise you, Doctor, it won't happen again!"

"Like how you promised Sakura you would protect her?"

Riya was taken aback by this. He remembered his words to her, that he would protect her at all cost. Now he has broken that promise. The Titans had captured her and he could blame no-one but himself. Though he had always valued patience and strategy, recently he has been rushing his actions causing him to be sloppy at his work. His sister paid for that mistake.

"…Nevertheless," Dr. Volkov continues. "our main goal now is to get back you sister. She is more vital to this operation than you would think. Our only problem now is how to get her out safely…"

"…I'll take care of it."

The Doctor turns to his side where Riya is suppose to be. But as he looked, the teen was already on his way out of the room.

"Can you really get her out of their, my boy?" Dr. Volkov asked out loud. He was more on questioning . Riya's capabilities now more than anything else. He knew that the boy must have some degree of instability due to recent events.

"…Yes, Doctor. I'm sure I can." Riya declared as he looked behind him to acknowledge the old man's inquiry. "I will get her out of there. And that is a promise I will die to keep…"

The Doctor found that he could not argue with the teen for some reason. It would seem he was again underestimating the true capabilities of these children.

"How are you planning to get her out and face the Titan's offence at the same time?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Doctor. I have my ways of distraction…"

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In the thirteenth floor briefing room.

The Titan's had rented out the room to have a round-table discussion on the current situation. They had managed to apprehend the girl, Lithium, but she hardly shows any sign of cooperating. Her supposed brother, Arsenic is still loose and was still able to deliver the stolen chemical substance back to… wherever they've been hiding out. The mastermind, Dr. Volkov, might be starting the induction process for all they know.

This has made the situation very dangerous for them and everyone else. With no clear knowledge as to what they might be dealing with, they are no closer to cracking this case than when they started it.

"Man…I am sooo totally bummed out right now…" said a very frustrated Beast Boy on one side of the table. "You're sayin we still got squat on these guys?"

"I'm afraid so Beast Boy." Robin replied from his end of the table. "Lithium won't cooperate with us and we don't know enough of this 'induction process' to get anywhere."

"How truly desponding our situation is…" added Starfire form her end.

"We should try and find out where their hide out is, dawg." Cyborg suggested from where he sat. "If we can do that, we can shutdown their whole operation."

"True, but the haven't been exactly leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, have they?" said Raven in her place.

"If anything our best chances of ever nailing them is to wait for her brother, Arsenic, to show up." Said Robin. "If he does show up, Raven can more than likely sense him coming. And, he'll most likely come after Lithium here."

"Are you sure about that, dawg?" asked Cyborg.

"Yes. From what info we can gather, those two have a very tight bond between them and their 'mother'. It's this kind of attitude that will make them do almost anything to get what they want. And, of coarse, that's what makes them so dangerous."

"How so, Robin?" asked Starfire.

"These two have exhibited absolute disregard for public ethics. I can only conclude that that whatever they are planning, makes them very unstable and unpredictable. That always concerns me."

"But dude, what about what that girl said when you talked to her?" inquired Beast Boy.

"Huh?"

"You know? when she was all 'we ain't no killers!" and stuff."

"As much as I wanna believe her I can't find any merit to back that up. Plus, may I remind you, they were both trained in lethal arts. Dr. Cannes made that clear when we had our little chat with him."

"But, Robin, the two have not exhibited any homicidal tendencies since they have appeared." Said Starfire. "Surely, this merits for something?"

"Yeah, dawg. And what about what I told happened that time we was chasing that Arsenic dude on the road? You know, the one with the girl and the ball and the car…"

"Yes, That is all true. They have never really shown any tendencies or incentives to actually kill anyone and I will accept that. But, as I said, they are unstable, and who knows what they can do if this goes any further than it already has. My point here is that they are still criminals who broke the law. It is only right that we treat them as we have treated all the other villains we have fought with. I'm sure you could all understand that."

A collective nod from the rest of the group.

"…But, still, dude." Spoke up Beast Boy. "you gotta admit that they're whole goal of tryin to bring their mom back from the dead is pretty easy to sympathized with, ya know."

"Yes it is." Added Starfire. "Their plight is very much saddening to hear."

"It's pretty understandable, dawg." Cyborg chipped in his two cents "I mean, they want their moms'. Wouldn't anybody else feel the same if they lost their moms but could bring them back, dawg?"

"I can understand what you guys are saying," said Robin. "But that is still no excuse for criminal behavior. My heart goes out to those two, but I won't let them just get what they want at the expense of other people. If they just realize that we can understand them, maybe they could allow us to help them."

"But do we really understand them?" Raven finally spoke up again.

Everyone turned to look at her. Raven was never much of a talker, they knew that much. But when she does have something to say, you can bet your last dollar it's worth hearing. Raven takes a breath and continues on.

"We can say that we can we relate to them in some degree because all of us can be considered orphans. And maybe we can. After all, we have all lost our natural parents through some form of tragedy or another, correct?"

The team suddenly takes a mournful expression. The soon recover and listen intently to Raven again.

"This, however, does not mean we can put ourselves in their shoes. At least all of us had some remnants of a family when we were younger. Even if I myself never really knew my mother, I still had a proper household of sorts at the temples of Azar where I received proper care. I'm thankful for being in the Titans because here I would also like to think I have some form of family with you guys. And as a Titan I have a clear purpose."

The rest of the team gives her reassuring smiles.

"But let's consider what we know about those two from what we have heard from Dr. Allen Cannes. Those two, Arsenic and Lithium, never once had a true family or any remnants of a proper one. Which is also why they are so close to each other. They were artificially made and raised to become weapons to serve whatever government. They never had a clear sense of their purpose in this world. They never had a proper childhood."

The rest of the team seems to ponder this notion. Generally though, their body language and facial expression can only indicate that they agree. Raven continues.

"They are not some career criminals as we have first thought they were, even though they have committed crimes. What they are exactly is lost, lonely, and looking for a way out of that dark hole they live in. They had only each other and the hope for some kind of future awaiting them. They long to escape this sense of being trapped in a void. And, at the moment they only have one avenue of escape…"

"…Maria…" said Robin.

"Precisely. So we cannot totally judge them on such a basis that we can only label them as hardened criminals. It maybe true that they have been trained to use lethal combat methods but also remember that they have been trained to use such methods on bad guys only. They were still trained to be soldiers, first and foremost. But they are also victims of a battle they were never meant to take part in. A battle for their identities…."

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Meanwhile. In the fourth basement level parking lot.

The place is dark and not even lit, there is absolutely no signs of life. Mostly due to the fact that the entire level was under maintenance due to a recent flooding of the vents and is strictly off limits to all personal. There was also no power to the level so the security was turned off for the moment. A fact all too soon, exploited.

A sewer lid lifts from the floor. It is set aside leaving the manhole completely open. A dark figure jumps up from the manhole and into a crouch on the floor. He scans the room as if searching for something. He finds nothing, he is satisfied

He takes out about four sticks of some sort from his pockets. He takes each one and bends them, causing a cracking sound from within the stick and making it glow an eerie green light. The glow was enough for only about a few feet but it was enough to light the figure to be identifiable. Arsenic.

Once all four sticks are lit, he haphazardly drops them to the floor around the manhole. He bends over the manhole and reaches down. He retrieves a rope of some sorts and pulls on it. The rope has some length until its end, tied to a large black trash bag, was lifted above the manhole. Arsenic sets down the bag just next to him. He tears it open to reveal a large metallic box. He opens it. Inside were a small number pad and a little LCD screen, over a lot of wires and circuitry connected to a very questionable black sphere.

In the light of the four green glow sticks. Arsenic kneels down on one knee and begins to work on the device. He pushes a sequence of buttons making loud beeping sounds. Eventually the small LCD screen showed a red blinking word: '**ARMED**'.

Arsenic stands up. He reaches into one of his pockets and retrieves what looks like a small calculator. He pushes a red button just bellow the numbers and the small LCD screen began blinking the same red message as the item on the floor. He smirks and pockets the device away.

He then leaves the scene towards a pair of elevator doors. It wasn't working of coarse, but that didn't bother Arsenic. He slips both his hands into the crack in between the doors. With great, inhuman strength, he forces the elevator doors to open. The elevator shaft was dark and unlit. Arsenic takes out a last glow stick, cracks it, and holds it forward.

The shaft went no lower than a few feet to the bottom where four giant springs, supposedly for the elevator car to rest on when at bottom, were planted on concrete. On the far corner was a maintenance ladder that was placed so that it, and anyone climbing it would be out of the elevator's way. Upward, the shaft stretched over ten stories up.

Arsenic wasted no time. He hops down and makes his way to the maintenance ladder. He begins a long upward climb.

"Hang in there, sis," he mumbles into the empty shaft, "I'm on my way…"

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Some floors up in a security control room.

As usual in a security control room, there is an abundance of monitors mounted through-out the walls. Each monitor shows one area of the many hallways, rooms, storage places of the building. Two guards were on post that day, sitting in front of a large computer control terminal. Evidently it was a slow day, since they had playing cards in their hands.

"Got any threes?" said the first man.

"Nope, go fish." Replied the second.

The first one picks a card from the deck and puts it in his hand.

"Should we be doin' this?" asked the first.

"Waddaya mean?"

"We're on duty after all…"

"Relax, we've been here two days and nothing's happened yet."

"That's a hasty generalization, Carl. Two days ain't enough to know for sure if we can take it easy. I don't wanna get fired again like the Garland tech center…"

"That wasn't our fault alright. That kid jumped us! Plus the report said he was superhuman."

"Still…"

"Just relax, Bob. We're inside police HQ. Plus the Titans are here. What are the odds that same guy would come here…?"

_**BONK!**_

The first man on duty, Carl, falls off his seat and face first into the floor, completely unconscious. The second man, Bob, shrieks in total shock and jumps off his seat and looks ahead behind his partner's seat. Arsenic was standing there, holding a fire extinguisher in follow-through position. Hastily, Bob grabs for his sidearm and frantically aims it. Arsenic simply tosses the fire extinguisher into Bob's gut, sending it and the guard into the far wall and causing him to drop his gun onto the floor at Arsenic's feet. Both guards on duty were now seemingly unconscious.

"Security Guards…" said Arsenic as he moved towards the control terminal, "If they're not incompetent, they're too easy to knock-out…"

He takes Carl's seat and operates the terminal speedily. He types away at a blurring speed. He glues his eye to the computer screen in hopes to find what he is looking for.

"C'mon sis…" he said "…where are you?"

He types, types some more, types a lot more, then finally on the screen display was the image of a familiar teenage girl bound by the limbs into some kind of chair. Arsenic's face lights up a bit. He takes careful note of her location and then searches a bit more for something else this time. The screen besides the first then shows a new image: the Teen Titans seated at a round table, discussing something he can't hear. Arsenic frowns in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Arsenic is oblivious to what's behind him: Bob, the security guard was not fully unconscious. He groggily lifts his head up and looks for the wall. He finds it, moreover he finds the emergency alarm button on it. Bob begins to slowly crawl towards the button.

Arsenic does not notice. He seems deep in thought. If he could somehow get to Lithium without being noticed, he could leave without any problems. But that would be hard. This building was probably the most secure building, next to STAR labs, in the city. And he also knew that the Titans were, more than likely expecting him to come here. He did have a plan to escape safely with his sister prior to coming here, but if at all possible he would like to avoid using the little 'distraction' that he had brought along with him. But it was a sound plan and had a good chance of working. But unless there is an urgent need for that plan, he would rather take a stealthier coarse of action---

**_BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!_**

A loud buzzing sound, accompanied by bright, flashing, red lights, penetrates the silence of the room. Arsenic is taken by complete surprise. He frantically looks around for the cause of the alarm. He sees one of the security guard reaching for the alarm button on the wall before promptly falling back down on the floor out of exhaustion.

"Damn!" Arsenic now knew a stealthy approach was out of the picture. Looks like he found that urgent need for his plan. He takes one last glance at the screen showing the Teen Titans. They had noticed the alarm and were frantically rushing out of the room they were in. He takes one last glance at his sister to see she has also reacted to the alarm with some shock and curiosity. Arsenic then turns to leave.

On his way out he notices a locker in the corner of the room. It was labeled with plate saying: 'M79'. Arsenic stops and makes for the locker. He opens it and inside was an M79 Rifle Grenade Launcher.

Along side it were some gas masks and a carrying case with a shoulder strap containing 'Tear Gas Rifle Grenades', used by the JCPD mainly for crowd control. Arsenic smirks. He takes the bag of grenades and slings it on his shoulder. He takes a gas mask and wears it on his face. He then takes the M79 and loads it with one grenade. He then promptly leaves the room.

------------------------------------------------

All through-out the building, alarms were loudly wailing.

Officers left and right were scrambling with weapons drawn for the eventuality of a hostile encounter. A squad of four officers was taking a particular path down a particular hallway in pursuit. They turn the corner. The take a stand with their pistols aimed at a fleeing figure ahead.

"Freeze!" the lead officer yells out.

The figure up ahead, Arsenic, stops in his tracks. In one quick movement, he turns around, aims the M79, and launches a tear gas grenade at the foot of the pursuing officers. The grenade explodes into a huge cloud of tear gas. The officers find themselves in a lack of mobility as the gas invades their lungs and stings their eyes.

Arsenic reloads the M79 with a new grenade from the bag. He takes a moment to adjust the gas mask on his face, and moves on, leaving his pursuers behind. While on the run, he takes the small digital device he had earlier. It was still blinking the same massage in red: **'ARMED'**. He pushes a series of buttons and the display stopped blinking and changed into a new display: **'7m : 00s'**

He pockets the device away. He turns a corner, a squad of more officers ahead were barring his way. The aim their guns at the incoming Arsenic in hopes of getting some shots off. But Arsenic had beat them to the punch by aiming his M79 and firing. The grenade again explodes on their feet. The officers ahead gag and cough from the gas. Arsenic, protected by his gas mask, runs at them and jumps over them.

He runs a distance down the hall until he sees a door leading into an office. It was a shortcut to where he was going. So he takes it, crashing through the door. Inside, more officers in waiting were aiming their weapons and started firing upon Arsenic.

Arsenic quickly ducks under a nearby desk. Bullets ricochet overhead of him as the cops lay suppressing fire. Arsenic does not take this lying down, though. He reloads the M79, lifts it over his head and the top of the desk, and fires blindly in the cop's direction. The officers, naturally, stop firing. Arsenic takes this moment to charge on ahead to the opposite door, knock two officers with the butt of his Launcher on the way.

He charges through the door and bursts out the other side into another hallway. He runs down the hallway a distance without resistance. Until he turns the next corner.

The M79 suddenly flies off Arsenic's hands following a sudden impact. Arsenic reels back and clutches his pained hands. He looks at the downed M79. A birdarang was embedded into the barrel. Arsenic's eyes are neutral as always.

"Arsenic!" a very familiar voice calls out.

Arsenic turns his head and stares at what he was expecting to see. The Teen Titans, Robin up front, Cyborg and Beast Boy just behind him, and Starfire and Raven floating in the back of the group. They had taken their stand in the middle of the hallway completely barring his route. They were clearly prepared to fight.

"Surrender, now!" Robin commands. "There is no way you can beat us."

Arsenic doesn't respond immediately. He removes the bag of rifle grenades off his shoulder and sets on the ground in front off him. He then takes the gas mask off and tosses it carelessly to the side. He puts a smirk on his face. Something the Titans found worrying.

"I can see you were expecting me." Said Arsenic.

"You're more predictable than you think." The Titan leader replies.

"Predict this, bird boy." Arsenic swiftly kicks the grenade bag like a football into Robin's face. Robin reacts fast enough to bat away the bag with one hand. But by the time he does so, Arsenic had closed the gap between them. Robin could not react to this. Arsenic grabs the Boy Wonder's arms. Does a three sixty with Robin in tow, and throws him into Starfire. Both teens fell to the ground hard.

"Argh!" "Oof!"

Arsenic catches Cyborg off guard. Arsenic sweep kicks the metallic hero bringing him to the floor. As the Titan is grounded, Arsenic grabs Cyborg's neck, picks him up by it, and tosses him to the wall, very hard, making a crater on the wall.

"Dohh!"

Arsenic becomes aware of something creeping up on him. He dodges to the side a s a green tiger pounces on him, missing. Arsenic promptly grabs the animorphed Beast Boy by the neck as well and tosses him upwards into a surprised Raven. Both teens fall to the ground near Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg.

"Uggh!" "Dah!"

Arsenic flips over the downed heroes and runs ahead of them. Robin hastily gets up and throws a birdarang. Arsenic seemed to have sensed it as he dodges to the side as it narrowly misses his head. Arsenic stops in his tracks and turns around. The Titans were quickly recovering and getting back into fighting poses. The Titans charge Arsenic.

Arsenic quickly holds up his palm out, at the same time reaches into his pocket with his other hand and retrieves his little digital device and let's the Titans see it.

"Hold it right there!" He exclaims. The Titans stop in their tracks. They quiver with curiosity.

"Can you guess what this is?" Arsenic asked the teens.

Cyborg takes a good look at it with his red robotic eye. He scans it carefully. His eyes grow wide. He knew what it was. And it was worth great concern.

"Oh, dang. Robin it's a remote detonator!"

"What!" the Titan leader looks back at his teammate then back at the device.

"That's right." Said Arsenic. "This thing is connected to a bomb hidden down bellow in the basement levels. If it blows this whole building will collapse, not to mention cause major damage to the surrounding area. I don't think that's what any of you want!"

"Dude, no way!" exclaims Beast Boy.

"That is horrible!" gasps Starfire.

"Of coarse, I'm not totally unfair." Arsenic continues. "This thing runs on a timer of seven minutes before it detonates. That gives you just enough time to find the bomb and dispose of it… that is if you don't come after me. It's your choice."

"No…" Raven says.

"You wouldn't dare." Robin glares.

"Let's see if you're as predictable as I am." Arsenic holds the device up. "Now choose."

He pushes a button. The device's display begins to countdown.

_7m : 00s…6m : 59s… 6m : 58s… 6m : 57s… 6m : 56s… 6m : 55s…_

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Author's Note: Cliffhanger, yay! First time I ever used it. Then again this is also my first fic. Anyway please send as many comments as you can. I live by them. Next update will be…oh I don't know, a few days or so…


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Need I say it? I don't own the Teen Titans or any remnants of them or their cartoon series.

Author's Note: I just received some more reviews. Thank you for giving me your opinions and I'm glad you think this story is good. I will take your advice into serious consideration to make this fic a whole lot better from now on, though I can't make any guarantees... Now on with the fic already.

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In the forth level basement.

All has stayed quiet. Not a soul reveals itself in the nearly unlit room. Its emptiness was partially filled by a single item silently sitting in the middle of the floor next to an open manhole.

A metal box is illuminated by the eerie green glow of four scattered glow sticks. The box laid open on the floor revealing its contents. Inside was a sphere connected to various wires and circuitry. On top of all this was a small dial pad with a small LCD screen. The screen's display has changed since the last time it was seen. The display was now a timer, counting down.

_5m : 47s… 5m : 46s… 5m : 45s… 5m : 44s…_

------------------------------------------------

In a hallway somewhere on the upper floors.

"Dude, do you even know where we're headed!" asked Beast Boy as he is running down the hall along with Robin and Cyborg. Starfire and Raven were keeping pace in the air. Alarm were still loudly buzzing and flashing red all over the place. By now the majority of the police in the building had started to evacuate and the halls were relatively empty. The Titans had warned the police via radio about the potential bomb threat and everyone got the hint to drop everything else and run for the hills.

"Not a clue!" replied Robin, "But like Arsenic said, it's most likely somewhere in the lower basement levels!"

"How can you be certain, friend Robin!" asked Starfire from the air.

"If I wanted to bring this place down, that's the place where I'd probably put a bomb!"

"Why is that?"

"This whole structure in supported by underground columns. If a bomb is strong enough to knock-out those columns from below, this whole building will collapse under it's own weight!"

"How much damage would that do to the surrounding area?" inquired Raven next to Starfire.

"Sufficed to say: a lot!"

They reached the end of the hallway where in lies a fork. The skidded around the corner and made a sharp turn to the right. The ran down the hall in a blistering pace. They had almost reached their destination for this particular floor, only short distance away now.

"Cyborg." Robin called out. "Can you disarm the bomb when we get to it!"

"I won't know for sure dawg!" replied Cyborg. "Not until I know exactly what kind of bomb we're dealin with here!"

"We'll attend to that when we get there!"

The reached the end of hallway again. This time however the dead end was into an emergency fire escape staircase. Robin charged head-on and plows into the door with a kick which forced it open inwardly. The rest of the Titans followed him into the staircase. Robin took a moment to look down, over the railing of the stairs. It was a long way down.

"Alright, we go straight down." Declared Robin. "Titans, GO!"

------------------------------------------------

Somewhere on the same floor.

Riya was running opposite of the Titans. He was completely ignoring the fact tat he had just activated a bomb in the lower basement levels. He only had one objective in mind at that moment: His sister. Besides the bomb was nothing but a distraction. The Titans will soon learn it is more irrelevant than they first thought.

His plan had worked out flawlessly. As he had predicted the Titans had put finding the bomb as their first priority. This left him with just enough time to find Sakura and get out of the building. He estimated he had around five minutes left. Plenty of time, or at least Riya hoped.

He was searching door to door for his objective, having no luck at all. He kept running down the hall and took the next corner. He ran as he searched through the assorted doors on the way. Still, he had no luck. He was getting frustrated now.

"C'mon sis…" he said. "…where the hell are you!"

He turns another corner at the end of the hall and ran down the next hallway. He continues to search through the doors he passed by, searching, searching, and searching, until he stopped dead in his tracks. He eyed one particular door next to him. It had a plate near the side labeling the room: Special Holding Room. Riya smirked slightly.

Bingo. This day might just get better yet.

He reeled back and gave the door a nice hard kick. It broke off its hinges crashing into the floor beyond. Riya entered into a much too gray room. At the center of the room, he found who he was looking for: Sakura, strapped into a chair designed to hold her.

"Sis?" he called out.

Sakura groggily lifts her head and looks towards the person who called her. An expression of delight in shown on her face.

"I knew you'd come for me, bro…" she said. Riya returned her smile with his own he moves closer to her.

"Hang on, I'm gonna get you out of here."

------------------------------------------------

In the fourth basement level.

The Titans emerged from the emergency fire escape staircase and into the parking floor. The entire space was dark and barren. There wasn't a whisper to be heard. Not even the alarms from upstairs could penetrate the silence. Starfire provides a dim light from a starbolt she held in her hand. Even so they couldn't see past a few feet due to heavy dust in the air.

The Titans knew already that this whole floor was closed off for maintenance purposes. There was no power on the floor. That gave Arsenic an advantage in hiding the bomb. It's gonna give the Titans a really hard time finding it though.

"Alright." Robin called out to his team, his voice echoed loudly. "Spread out and search for it. Sound off when you get something."

The Titans gave a nod of affirmation. Then they proceeded to search in their own respective methods.

Robin took out a small scanner from his utility belt. The kind used to detect any electrical wavelengths from digital devices. They all saw Arsenic using a digital remote detonator, which Cyborg had pointed out clearly earlier on. He was fairly certain whatever bomb it would be, it would have a digital detonation system. If the bomb was near, his scanner would detect it.

Cyborg was using his cybernetic eye which he currently programmed to see infrared signals. In a floor with no power, anything electronic would be as obvious as a spots on a cows back. Problem with this technique though, the multitude of supporting columns was blocking most of his vision, and he already had a short range to start with since the floor's atmosphere was thick with dust.

Raven was floating around with a palm held out slightly glowing in dark energy. She was trying to pick up any form of energy signatures that could give away the bomb like a radiation frequency. A problem was she didn't know if the bomb gave off any radiation or if it was even remotely nuclear. She was having no luck.

Starfire was flying around the large space of the floor with a starbolt held above her head to light her way. She searched purely by sight. She didn't have any of the sophisticated technology of Cyborg and Robin nor did she have the keen spiritual senses of Raven. However, since her home planet has a relatively darker atmosphere than that of Earth, she has evolved better night vision compared to humans. Even in this darkness she would be able to see anything she was looking for if she looked hard enough.

Beast Boy had transformed himself into a hound. He had prior experience in this kind of situation. He has learned that his best way of finding a bomb would be to find it's chemical trails. A hound's nose is perfect for the job. He sniffed around, sniffed around some more, sniffed around a lot more, but comes up empty.

Until finally he raises his head. He couldn't detect anything by scent, but a light at the distance caught his attention. He stares into the distance his canine eyes detect an unusual hint of fading green light on the floor. At first he thought it was Starfire's light but then remembered she was behind him, in the air, moving.

Instinct took over and Beast Boy, still in the form of a hound dog, bolted towards the spot. As he neared it he transformed back to his elfin self. He comes within a few feet of whatever was in front of him. He could see it clearly now. An open metal box surrounded by rapidly dimming green glow sticks. He peered into the box and saw what was inside. He knew immediately what it was but what caught his attention the most was the timer slowly counting down.

_3m : 31s… 3m : 30s… 3m : 29s… 3m : 28s…_

He didn't need anyone to tell him what to do next.

"Hey, guys!" he exclaimed, "I found it, and it ain't good!"

------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, back in the Special Holding Room.

Riya grabbed hold of the binds that held Sakura's arms to the chair and effortlessly ripped them off. He bended down and did the same to the bounds on her legs. She was now free. He coaxed her into getting up but she hardly offered a response.

"Sis, what's wrong?" Riya asked.

"They used some kind of sedative on me when I was out," Sakura replied, "My muscles are completely numb. I can't move an inch if I wanted to."

Riya frowns at this. Sakura's captors were smart. If she had not been sedated she probably would have escaped on her own, no problem. But the Titans knew that fact so the made sure she couldn't use any of her strength. Now Riya was presented with a problem: Sakura couldn't move on her own. He had only one option which he needed to complete his mission.

"Don't worry, I gotcha…" he said.

He then proceeded to pick her up in both arms in a cradle like a groom would carry his bride. With his strength, it was no problem at all. Now there was only left the problem of how to get the hell out of the building and back to the hideout. Fortunately he had already planned for that a little earlier in the day.

"Now what?" Sakura asked while in her brother's arms.

"To the roof." He replied.

Riya swiftly exited the room with his sister safely cradled in his arms. He ran down the hallway at breakneck speed. He knew he had little time remaining to make his escape along with Sakura. He needed to hurry. He knew where he was headed at least.

"…I'm sorry." Riya said out of the blue.

It took Sakura a few moments to realize that the apology was for her since there is no one else in particular to be able to talk to. However she did not know why he said it.

"…For what, bro?" she asked.

"I made a promise to protect you and I failed." Riya replied. "I shouldn't have let you down like that. If only I was a little more careful---"

"Forget it."

"Huh?" He looks down at her for a moment.

"I said forget it. I shouldn't be counting on you all the time like I have always been. I have to get stronger myself. It was also my fault I got careless. So you don't have to blame yourself bro.It's okay already. You're here for me, aren't you?"

"…Who's the big brother here again?"

Sakura returns a soft expression of humor. Riya smirks satisfyingly. All is well in the universe for a moment.

"Don't worry," he said. "We'll be out of this place in a minute!"

------------------------------------------------

On the building's rooftop.

**_CRASH!_**

The emergency exit door burst open with the force of a cannon blast. Riya, still carrying Sakura in his arms in a cradle, has one leg extended as if following a kick outward. He cautiously moves out into the open space of the rooftop. The place seems empty at first. He listens carefully for a sound. He hears two voices in the distance.

"Hey, did you hear that?" said one voice.

"Let's check it out, c'mon!" said the other followed by the pitter-patter of rushing feet.

Riya searched the area for available options and saw one. A large air-conditioning motor is planted on the rooftop just a few feet to the side. He rushed towards it and quickly hid behind the unit, out of sight. He could hear the two other persons on the rooftop reach the area in front of the emergency exit.

"Whoa, what happened here!" exclaimed the first voice.

"Be careful, there's someone else here!" ordered the second, followed by clicking and sliding sounds.

Riya knew what he had to do. He set down his sister carefully beside the air-con unit so that she was sitting up and against it. He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and said: "Wait here, I'll be quick…" Sakura gave him a nod in affirmation. He then cautiously moved around the air-con unit so as to not grab the attention of the two other. He peeked around the corner to see his would-be adversaries. They were two men, one dressed in a regular police uniform the other dressed as a pilot. Both had handguns drawn at ready and were searching the immediate area.

Riya looked around on the ground and found a large screw, probably left there by some engineer or technician. He picked it up and looked around some more. He spotted another air-con unit a distance away beyond the two officers. He had a plan right then and there.

He reels back his hand and threw the screw all the way towards the air-con unit beyond. It made a large clanging sound as it made impact. Naturally, the two officers immediately turned their attention to the sound oblivious that their target was behind them. It was then that Riya made his move.

Riya emerged out of the corner and rushed the guy closest to him, the pilot, who was still oblivious and off-guard. Riya sweep kicked him from behind causing him to fall backwards. Then, in a lightning quick move while the pilot was still free falling, Riya palmed the man's chest and shoves him down into the concrete, knocking the wind out of the pilot.

"Woah---oof!"

The second man, the regular officer, finally noticed what's going on and rapidly aimed his gun at Riya's general direction. But before he could get a shot out, Riya was already in his face and grabbing the barrel of the pistol, crushing it with his strength, rendering it useless. Riya then grabbed the officer's neck and plowed him into the ground by it, completely knocking him out.

"Dah---Agh!"

Riya stood triumphantly and took a last glance at the two making sure they were completely out. Satisfied, he moved back to the air-con unit where his sister was still sitting patiently. He picks her up once again. He moves to the back of the rooftop. There he finds what he was looking for: A police helicopter. He smirks.

He made his way to it. Its doors were already open and it seemed like it was all set to lift off. Most likely the two men he just fought were supposedly going somewhere in it. He moved to the passenger side of the thing and carefully set Sakura down in the passenger seat and strapped her in securely. He then moved to the pilot seat and sat himself down. He worked the control panels expertly and made the necessary preparations to take off.

"Almost home free…" he mumbles incoherently. He was guessing, in his head, that the Titans must have found the bomb right at that moment. And if they we're crazy enough to mess with the thing as Riya had predicted the would do, then Riya had to hurry.

He grabbed the controls for flight. He lifted the stick beside his seat, which was the lift control. Above them, the rotor blades slowly started to spin.

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Back in the fourth basement level.

"Well, Cyborg?" asked a now concerned Robin.

All the Titans had gathered in front of the metal box containing the strange sphere and its corresponding circuitries. Cyborg was the one kneeling down directly in front of the item while the others kept a reasonable distance so as to not disturb Cyborg.

Cyborg gave the bomb a once over with his electronic eye. He took a digital picture with it and compared it to his personal database on high explosive weapons. It took him only a few seconds to correctly identify what it was and relayed the information to the rest of the team.

"That Arsenic dude wasn't kiddin' y'all." He said. "This sphere is supposedly the warhead of a cruise missile. That like enough TNT to level a three block radius from where we're standin'!"

"Just great!" said Robin. "Can you disarm it, Cyborg?"

"Well…uh…the warhead is familiar but this detonator is new to me, dawg. It ain't like one in a missile. More like the kind on ol' fashionedbombs where it is programmed to blow after the timer runs out."

"A time bomb!" Beast Boy states the obvious. "All you have to do is cut the red wire, right dude?"

"This ain't the movies BB!"

"Nevertheless, Can you do that, Cyborg?" asked Raven.

"Uh…sure, I'll try…"

Cyborg looks over the detonator and checks he timer. It was worrying to say the least.

_2m : 49s… 2m: 48s… 2m : 47s… 2m : 46s…_

He quickly searched over the different circuitry connected to the detonator. It was really confusing. If this were the detonator directly from the missile he associated the warhead with he could disable the thing, no problem. But the warhead was connected to a different kind of detonator, the kind you would find on a time bomb. But it was also custom made, Arsenic's personal handiwork probably. Beast Boy was right that the usual solution for time bombs was to cut the right wire, simple enough. The problem lies in _finding_ the right wire.

He scans the detonator thoroughly. He analyzes the circuitry. He decides on a particular wire that seemingly is the only one directly connected to the timer. He raises a forefinger. It opens up and a small pair of shears appears from the robotic digit. Cyborg places it on the wire and prepares to cut. He takes a deep breath…and cuts the wire.

_2m : 38s… 2m : 37s… … …_

The Titans crane their necks to see the timer stop. It seemed, for a moment, that Cyborg had cut the right wire and the bomb was disabled.

… … …_2m : 36s—2m : 35s—2m : 34—2m : 33s—2m : 32s—_

The Titan's eyes grew wide as saucers. The timer had not only spontaneously continued, but it continued at double the pace as before. Not good.

"Oh, boy…" said Cyborg.

"Well, this is convenient…" sarcastically said Raven.

"Friends, I must inquire." Said Starfire. "Does anyone have a plan of the letter 'B'?"

"Oh, no! What're we gonna do now!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"No choice! Grab it and let's go!"

"What?"

"We have to get it outside, now!"

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Outside on the front parking lot.

The Titans emerged from the tunnel entrance leading into the underground parking spaces. The rushed into open air and the sunlight nearly blinded them. Beast Boy was at the rear of the pack, transformed as a gorilla and carrying the bomb with one arm on his shoulder.

"How much time left!" asked Robin.

Beast Boy set down the bomb so the rest of the group could have a look see.

_1m : 01s—1m : 00s—0m : 59s—0m : 58s—0m : 57s—0m : 56s—_

"if we're gonna do this, it better be now…" said Raven.

"Agreed! Starfire, Beast Boy, you guys know what to do!"

The tamaranian and the animorph both nodded. Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl and grabbed the bomb with his talons. He then zoomed upwards into the air with the bomb in tow. Starfire took that as her cue and swiftly followed Beast Boy into the air.

The two Titans flew well over the top of the building next to them. They were roughly a quarter of a mile up at that moment. Beast Boy then tossed the bomb with all his reptilian strength as far high up as he could. The bomb case traveled about a hundred feet upwards of where he hovered.

Starfire took that as her next cue. She reeled back and produced an extra large starbolt with both palms. Once she has decided that the bomb had reached its maximum height, she unleashed the massive ball of tamaranian energy at the thing. It made impact and exploded in a brilliant green light.

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About a mile to the south of the JCPD HQ building. Fifteen hundred feet in the air.

A police scout helicopter was hovering in the air. Inside Riya and Sakura watched as a huge green explosion takes place above the vicinity of police headquarters. Sakura, understandably, had an expression of curiosity on her face. As far as she was concerned, this was a surprise turn of events. After all she was locked up in a holding cell for most of the day.

On the pilot seat, Riya was less baffled. He had planned everything and fortunately for them both, the plan had more or less gone smoothly. The distraction he provided for the Titans kept them busy enough to leave them alone. Had they not this whole effort would have been a complete waste. He counted himself lucky that the Teen Titans didn't call his _bluff._

But that didn't matter to them now. For them the day was over and done with. For the moment, they can relax.Now all that was left for them to do was to head back to the hideout. Riya worked the controls and headed the aircraft I a southward direction.

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A little later that afternoon. At the front parking lot of police headquarters.

Police officers were scrambling all over the place trying to secure the site. This whole day, it seemed, was one debacle over another. However there was some good news. There were no casualties aside from the few officers suffering from the affects of tear gas and the pilot and his escort from the roof that suffered at the most crucial, some bruises. Fortunately there were no fatalities.

There was also no structural damage to the building since the bomb threat was properly disposed of. The only real setback from this whole situation was the discovery that one of the helicopters we're stolen. The police and the Titans had concluded that it was probably taken by Arsenic to make his getaway with Lithium. They are both free once again and the Titan's knew that was a big problem.

But now their concern was getting things in order in the vicinity of police headquarters. The excitement has slowly died down over the course of two hours since Arsenic and Lithium's escape. The Titans had gone over the building along with the police to secure whatever evidence they could find. Cyborg on the other hand was out on the parking lot beside the T-car.

He had a portable terminal he took from the T-car set up, on the hood. He was staring intently at the screen which was playing a kind of video playback. It seemed to be a recording of an explosion. The explosion from earlier. He kept on watching. Because as he watched, he knew something was not right. He typed something on the keyboard. A massage pops on the screen that states: 'NEGATIVE RESPONSE'. After reading that, Cyborg knew that something was definitely not right.

"Hey, there Cy. What's up?" Beast Boy said from behind the metallic teen hero.

Cyborg looked over his shoulder to see that the rest of the Titans had gathered behind him.

"We got your call to come back here." said Robin. "It sounded serious. What have you got for us, Cyborg?"

"And what're you watchin' there anyways?" asked Beast Boy.

"Well, this is what I wanted to talk about." Cyborg pointed to the video playback.

"What is it exactly?" asked a curious Raven, who was now watching the video with much deliberation.

"As you could probably guess this is a recording I made of when BB and Star blew up the bomb. I've been goin' over it for, like, half an hour already and the more I look at it, the more I analyze it, I still go back to the same conclusion. Which is really buggin' me, dawg."

"Aaaaaaand… what's that?" asked Beast Boy.

"The bomb was a fake."

"…"

A general silence befell all the Titans. This was something they were not expecting to hear. It was very concerning. Everyone was taken off-guard by this.

"Friend Cyborg, did I not just hear you state that it was a false device that we had destroyed earlier?" Starfire broke the silence.

"That's right, Star."

"How can you know this for sure, Cyborg?"

"I took a recording with my electronic eye. Visual, infrared, gamma, the whole nine yards. I wanted to make sure that the explosion wasn't leaving any nasty gases and crud like that. But when I analyzed the playback I found out that there was no trace of explosive material aside from Star's blast."

"Can you be sure about that, Cy?" asked Beast Boy.

"Yes, and there are other clues. For instance that explosion wasn't nearly as big as it was suppose to be. It would have been able to cover at least ahundred foot radius. That is if it was properly armed."

"So you're saying it wasn't a real bomb?"

"It was, partly. The warhead was authentic, I can be sure of that, along with the timer and the detonator. But the only explanation I can think of is that the warhead was emptied out of explosive before it was set-up. There was never any threat from it."

The Titans took a long moment to ponder this. The bomb was not real, at least to a certain extent. No threat ever existed.

Robin did his best to piece together the pieces in his head. The bomb was not legit, that much has been revealed. So it was nothing more than a distraction planted by Arsenic. He used it to keep the Titans occupied while he retrieved Lithium from her holding cell.

But why use a fake bomb, or at least one that was useless. He knew warheads. And he also knew it was really difficult to empty out a warhead of it's payload. It would've been much easier to set up a warhead as it is. But to empty it would completely defeat the purpose of its existence. Unless, Arsenic never planned on any actual detonation. As if he…didn't want anyone to get killed.

As if reading his mind, Raven summed up Robin's thought in her own saying.

"This gets even more curious every minute…" Raven said.

"Indeed, it is…" said Starfire.

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Author's note: Again, thanks for the reviews. Thank you for telling me my format was slightly wrong since I was accidentally using present tense. Who knows, maybe I'll actually write a screenplay someday.

Also I noticed an error in my last chapter when I mentioned a 'thirteenth floor'. I realize there is no such thing as a thirteenth floor in any building. That's why they made a sci-fi / horror movie out of it. Sorry for the mistake. Anyways, comments, suggestions, violent reactions. Send them all my way!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Cartoon Network owns them, not me. But if I did own them, there WILL be a new season!

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The noon sun shined upon the metropolis that is Jump City.

A new day in the big city goes as most other days would. A beautiful day with cloudless skies and fresh air. People mingle about going about their daily chores with out a care in the world. The peaceful, tranquil atmosphere is yet to be broken. And as with all eventualities, it is.

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_**BOOM!**_

Techno Depot, a large scale electronics and appliance store somewhere uptown.

What one may assume as a giant snake made out of random electronic appliances was wrecking the place, causing massive chaos. From what would be the snake's sparking 'head', it shoots out bolts of electricity that completely incinerates everything that it hits. People, naturally, were madly panicking and running for cover where they find it.

Behind the rampaging metal serpent, Control Freak stood laughing, apparently enjoying the mayhem he is causing. In his hand he held a red glowing remote control.

"That's right!" exclaimed the obese villain. "Run and scream! I'll show who's in 'remote' control up in this joint! Hahahahahaha!"

Control Freak pushed the button on his remote. The metal serpent began to reel up like a cobra about to strike. It also began to glow an eerie red as the villain's remote. More and more appliances from all over the place began to be magnetically drawn towards the giant snake making it grow in overall size and length. It reeled up its 'head' and gave a deafening electronic roar. Sparks flew from its mouth as it did.

"Hahahahaha! Eat your hearts out, Wachowski Brothers!"

The giant metal snake continued its rampage through the store, 'eating' up some electronic debris on it's way in and around the space. People were almost in a mad hysteria as Control Freak continues to bellow out his laughter which comically resembled that of the Wicked Witch from West.

The chaos continued for a while. Of coarse this chain of events could only go so far before coming to an eventuality which will probably happen right about…now.

"Control Freak!"

The villain stopped his incoherent cackling for a moment to see who called out his name. He turns around to look behind him. Standing at the entrance was an all too familiar team of teenage superheroes: The Teen Titans.

"This show is over for you!" exclaimed Robin, "It's time for your final curtain call!"

"Man! You people are about as predictable as a James Bond plotline! Always poppin' out when nobody wants ya!"

"Well if you think we're so darn predictable…" said Cyborg as he prepared his arm into a sonic cannon, "then you pretty much know that your gonna be eatin' dirt by the end of the day, punk!"

"Yeah, dude!" concurred Beast Boy, "We've beaten you once, and we're gonna do it again!"

"You should know, Beast Butt!" retorted Control Freak, "Sequels hardly ever work out!"

Control Freak aims his remote in the Titan's direction and clicks. Behind him the giant metal serpent turned its attention towards the Titans. It 'glared' at them, its 'eyes' glowing bright red. Its mouth glowed a bright white while spraying sparks into the air that seemed to be getting bigger. Everyone knew what was coming next.

"Evade!" ordered Robin.

The metal serpent blasted a bolt of high voltage at the heroes who promptly spread out in avoidance of the preemptive attack. Robin launched up into the air via a grappling hook, followed by Starfire and Raven. Beast Boy and Cyborg jumped to either side of the blast.

Cyborg was the first to recover. He managed to pick himself up and aims his sonic cannon at the giant electronic monstrosity. He shot the serpent with a strong blast of seismic energy, the impact causing the thing to reel back a bit as if stunned.

Robin took this as a window of opportunity. He swung from where he hanged via his grappling hook. He picked up momentum and detached the device at the right moment in order to propel himself towards his intended target which was the stunned metal serpent. He lands on the monster's head and saddles it like a rider on a bike. He took out a birdarang from his belt, held it out like a dagger and began stabbing downward at the metallic creature.

The metal serpent bucked wildly as if in pain from the stabs at its temples. It shook its head from sided to side in an attempt to get the boy wonder off of its cranium. Robin does his best to hang on, riding the serpent like a cowboy on a rodeo.

"Whoa—whoa—whoa-oh—whoa!"

Meanwhile, Starfire was flying towards the area behind the serpent. She is attempting to catch it off-guard by attacking from the rear. She prepared a couple of starbolts to attack. Suddenly, as if sensing her, the metal serpent turned its head around to face her. Starfire was taken by surprise. The serpent quickly launched a bolt of electricity at her. Starfire barely evaded in time by ducking as the bolt of lightning passed above her.

"Eek!"

The blast missed her completely and only managed to create a new hole in the ceiling. Robin, who was still on top of the serpent's head, stabbed down one last time and managed to take out an eye of the monster. It gave out a very loud electronic screech.

Starfire took this opportunity and flew at a high speed towards the thing. She tackled the thing by the neck and rammed most of the metallic snake's head area into the floor. Robin wisely jumped off the creature before its impact with the tile floor and concrete. There was a moment of silence as a huge dust cloud came up from the point of impact. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg gathered together near the site to try and assess the damage.

Suddenly and without warning, the metal serpent's head exploded out of the dust cloud, 'mouth' agape, and towards the unsuspecting figure of Starfire. The serpent clamps its mouth down on the female Titan as Robin and Cyborg are too blinded by the dust too react on time. The metallic snake rose above the floor once again, this time holding a captive Starfire clamed in its jaws. The tamaranian tried to struggle against the grasp of the serpent but to no avail.

"Starfire!" "Starfire!" Cyborg and Robin said at the same time.

The metal snake seemed to glare at them again with its one remaining eye. The two boys take a prepared fighting stance each. Cyborg prepped his cannon again while Robin took out and extended his bo staff. The two then charged the metal creature head-on.

"Man, what fabulous script this is turning out to be!" said Control Freak as he watched, "I should get an Emmy for this."

"How about one for best imitation of an onion…"

Control Freak looked behind him. There was what looked like a miniature black hole that formed on the floor. From it emerged Raven. From above, a green sparrow landed next to her and transformed into Beast Boy's elfin form. The two Titans took fighting stances.

"Dude, just give it up already!" ordered Beast Boy.

"Just because you have Mr. Spock's ears doesn't mean you can order me around!"

Control Freak aims his remote control though not directly at the two teens but at a rack of toy robots behind them. Control Freak clicked and his remote released a beam of red energy towards the toy robots that covered the entire shelf. Upon impact, the toy robots began to glow red. Then they apparently gained a live of their own as they all hopped off their respective places and began to assault the two teens.

A dozen or so robots made a grab for Raven who tried to fly away. But one of the robots managed to grab her cloak followed by many others. Together they pulled Raven to the floor and anchored her to it. Raven did her best to yank off her cloak from their grasp but made little progress. She tried casting her black telekinesis at them.

"Azerath, Metri---"

Unfortunately, she was interrupted in the middle of her chant as she was overwhelmed by the toy robots. She continued to struggle as the merciless things began to pile up on her.

Meanwhile, Beast Boy was having his own troubles. He was currently in gorilla mode batting away the figures with his large arms of pure muscle. He was successful at batting off, and even breaking a few of the robots but there were to many of them grabbing onto his fur. He then quickly transformed into a crocodile and started chomping on the annoying toys. But he found that he was to slow on his feet in this form and the robots started pilling on his back.

Before he could be overwhelmed, Beast Boy managed to transform into an elephant, knocking the robots off of his back. The Robots began to recover and gather around the green elephant, a scant few brave ones charging the Titan head-on. Beast Boy was able to counter their charges by using his trunk to sweep them a way from his hide. More and more Robots kept charging and Beast Boy was forced to walk backwards slowly.

While all this was going on, a relatively large pile-up of robotic mass was formed of where Raven should be. The pile started to pulse violently while entrails of black energy bellowed out from inside. Suddenly, it exploded in a black mass. Robots and robot parts flew in all directions. In the epicenter of the blast stood Raven with her arms out stretched and lightly panting for air.

She glanced around to see Beast Boy in the form of an ostrich running away as a veritable army of toy robots was chasing him. Raven also saw Control freak to one side mockingly laughing at Beast Boy's plight. He was completely oblivious to her at that moment. She took this moment to make her move. She extended his arm forward and chanted her spell.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

A black aura surrounded Control Freak's remote control. The object flew out of the fat villain's hand like it was made of butter. Control Freak was taken by surprise by this.

"What on Middle Earth!" he searches for his remote and finds it in Raven's grasp. "Aww, man. Not again!"

"You should really learn to keep a spare…" said Raven, smirking slightly.

The dark girl then tossed the thing up into the air. While it was in mid-air, Raven through a bolt of black energy at the device. It was completely destroyed upon impact.

"No, nooo! Say it isn't so!" screamed out Control Freak

"…You really need a new hobby…" said Raven in a monotone.

On one end of the place the robot army that was chasing Beast Boy began to spontaneously deactivate. While to another side, the giant metal serpent that was fighting with Robin and Cyborg began to crumble back into its many individual parts enabling Starfire to be set free.

A relative calm followed as everything started to simmer down now that there were no more threatening electronic stuff around. Control Freak was kneeling and flooding the floor with a stream of tears as he was begging Raven to spare his life.

"Pleeeaasssss forgive me! I didn't mean it! I swearrrr!" Control Freak groveled at Raven's feet in a pathetic plea for mercy.

"Okay, somebody get him off me before I do something really nasty."

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A little later that day.

A police van plus a couple of patrol cars were parked outside the Techno Depot storefront. From the store itself, out came a familiar bunch of teen superheroes followed closely by a pair of guards escorting a now detained Control Freak to the police van. He was no longer groveling but instead struggling against his holders.

"And I would've gotten away with it too," Control Freak screamed out, "if it weren't for those meddling ki---!"

Control Freak was interrupted as the back door of the police van was shut in his face. The teens went in a separate direction and gathered in front of nearby T-car.

"I must say," said Starfire, "that ordeal had a rather 'smooth' outcome as it is said. Would you not agree, friends?"

"I'll say." Cyborg replied, "That guy is so old news, he barely lasts five minutes with us anymore."

"Yeah we kicked his butt good!" said Beast Boy "…of course, much props going to Rae here."

"Just doing my job…" Raven replies in a monotone.

"But still, it was pretty cool the way you made him drool at your foot and all. Ain't that right Rob?"

Robin doesn't respond or even acknowledges Beast Boy's inquiry. The Titans are curious but Beast Boy seemingly read his mind and voiced out his opinion.

"Dude, don't tell me you were really wanting _them_ to show up, were you?"

Robin finally acknowledged the animorph.

"Actually, yes I was sorta wanting _them_ to be here. But apparently they're not."

"And you're actually upset that it wasn't them and it was just that blubbered up couch potato with a pimped out remote.?"

From the police van: "I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!"

"Not really. I just want to solve this case as soon as I can." Robin said. "It's been two days since police HQ. Problem is, like always, We get jack crud for evidence or any lead. Maybe I did want them to show up so we could get another crack at them. If I only had one decent clue we could crack this case by now."

"Hold up, are you talkin' 'bout Arsenic n' Lithium?" asked Cyborg.

"Yep."

"Aww man, stop trippin' over them already. So they've been gone for the past two days. They'll show up when they show up."

"I would suppose though that you are worried about the 'Project: Maria' that you and Raven have briefed all of us about, am I correct friend Robin?" asked Starfire.

"Yeah, Starfire, you're right," replied Robin, "If Project: Maria is as bad as we've heard, we could be facing a major crisis if those two actually managed to finish this induction process."

"I doubt they're done with the process," said Raven.

"…How so?"

"From what we could recognize from those two and their mastermind, they don't want to hesitate one bit if their goal is so close as to they can already achieve it. They're hesitating now, maybe because of some kind of obstacle they're having trouble surpassing, like maybe they haven't acquired all they need yet to actually start the process."

"Or, they're just tired of us kickin' their butts!" exclaimed Beast Boy.

"…Hmm. That could be true, actually."

"But that would entail that they're taking time off for plotting against us," said Robin, "That's partially why I'm a bit worried they haven't showed up yet."

The Titans took a silent moment to ponder this possibility.

"I would not worry to much, friends," said Starfire. The rest of the team look at her to hear what she has to say.

"Because I am confident that we can overcome any offensive they could possibly project towards us, correct?"

"…heh, and I thought I was the optimist of the team." Beast Boy stated following her.

"…I guess your right Starfire," said Robin, "We've been through worse, after all."

"So what do we do now?" asked Beast Boy.

"Here's a suggestion," said Cyborg, "how 'bout we get back to the tower _and_ lunch before those dang egg rolls get cold!"

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In that oh so mysterious underground lair.

"It has to be him." Dr. Volkov was at his usual position in front of the giant computer screen looking up at the display. It was some kind of sheet that featured names and numbers of sorts.

One particular entry was highlighted: _Cannes, Allen J. rm. 1251 phone. 6573319_

"So he's in this city too," said Sakura.

"What are the odds?" said Riya.

"He's the only one who could have told them about Maria," said the doctor, "Sakura, how much do the Titans exactly know?"

"I'm not that sure myself," answered the girl, "As far as I've heard, they know we're trying to do the induction process. They probably also know about the genome samples and the equipment we've been taking."

"Damn, this is why I am wanting us to take a break for a while. If they know as much as Cannes does thaen they could actually be planning against us in advance."

"Yeah, they could be."

"Somehow I think that's unlikely." Riya said, out of the blue. The Doctor and Sakura looked at him as if to urge him to explain what he meant by that.

"Think about it," he continued, "they haven't done anything to secure what ever things were planning to steal. I mean we ourselves hardly know when, where, and what we're suppose to take next. They're still waiting on us. They may know what the induction process is, they have no clue how it's suppose to be done. Face it, we're all at a stale mate. We still have to find our objectives and the Titans can't do a damn thing until we make a move first."

Sakura and Dr. Volkov seem to ponder at this for a while.

"…Good point, my boy," said the Doctor, "If the Titans did know what we were really up to then they would have done something to try and stop us."

"So what do you suggest we do, bro?" asked Sakura.

"Same thing we always do: look for the next target, find it, go after it, and to hell with anything and anyone who gets in our way."

Sakura smirks at this a bit.

"However," continued Dr. Volkov, "we still need to take care of our old friend."

He looked back up at the screen display and the highlighted entry. Riya and Sakura follow his sight. The two siblings then met their eyes and as if non-verbally communicating, nods in some kind of agreement.

"Skyline Apartments right?" asked Riya, "we'll take care of it."

"Are you sure?" asked Dr. Volkov, turning his attention back to them.

"Yeah, this 'ill be quick, Doc," answered Sakura, "We'll be right back."

The two teens proceeded to make their way out. Dr. Volkov offered no objections. He knew they could handle it. So now he was left to his own devices. He decided that he should probably start searching for their final target to complete the induction process.

The sooner they were done, the sooner he would have what he wanted for all this time. He could afford to be patient for a bit more time. After that the world was his oyster. And his alone. All the power he could ever want will be his, soon.

He begins to go to work on his searches. But before he does he takes one last long glance at the entry containing his old comrade's name.

"Always the persistent one, aren't you, Allen?" he said, "but you can't stop me now. No one can."

He chuckles softly into the silent atmosphere.

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Titan's Tower, the roof.

Raven sat near the rooftop edge. Actually, more of floating while in a sitting position, with hands raise at an angle just at shoulder level, thumb and index fingers touching, quietly chanting her famous magic words.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

This was her most favorite meditating spot aside from her room. Away from the mainland, Titan's Tower enjoys a clean and tranquil atmosphere devoid of the sounds of traffic, pollution, people, radios, TV's, and all that. Nothing but quiet.

She sensed a presence approaching her. Though she didn't need any psychic powers to know who it was. So she decided to greet him first without even turning to look at him.

"Good afternoon, Beast Boy."

"Whoa!" the said visitor yelped, "man, it's kinda weird when you go all emphatic like that."

"I wasn't being emphatic. You're just too easy to predict. Don't you have anything to do in the tower?"

"Um…well, Cyborg and Robin are in the garage and Starfire is gardening again so I've got not much. How about you Rae? Meditating the day away again?" said Beast Boy as he scratched the back of his neck

"More or less. I was trying to---"

"Feel out those two trouble makers using your powers?"

Now Raven actually turned to meet the animorph's glance

"Heh, your that hard to predict yourself, Rae." He said, to answer her unsaid inquiry.

"…indeed."

"So I'm guessing no luck, huh?"

"Yes. I'm starting to doubt if this method would actually work anymore. It would seem that Arsenic and Lithium have been able to hide their spiritual signatures. I don't know how they're doing it or how they know that I was sensing them through it. During their raid on the chemical factory and Police HQ I was barely able to sense them until I got up close to them."

"It looks like they're pulling one over us."

"That's true. And now I don't know what else I can do."

"…Well, don't sweat it Rae. Like you told me before, we're just gonna have to wait them out to get another chance. You don't have to as paranoid as Robin."

"I'm not paranoid Beast Boy. I just…"

"…what?"

"…I actually want to help them."

"Help them, how?"

"Well, remember when we talked about them? When I said they were 'lost'?"

Beast Boy nodded.

"I truly want to help them. Help them find what they're looking for."

"You mean a family?"

"Back in Azar, where I grew up most of my life, I didn't have a real family since my mother was forbidden to see me and my father… can't be allowed to see anyone at all. But I was taken good care of. The nuns of the temples of Azar gave me all the motherly care I'd ever need to grow up. And also, I felt that I was accepted there, praised even. But I also had a longing for my real mother. At least I eventually met her. Arsenic and Lithium never had any of that."

"…Yeah, I kinda feel for them too. I mean before my real parents died, I had the best time with them. I'm alive right now thanks to them, as well as being the hero I'm hopin' I am. And even after that, The Doom Patrol was a pretty cool bunch when I lived with them as their junior trainee. I may have lived with mostly unnatural people most of my life, no offence to you guys, but at least I felt accepted. I never had to go looking for it."

"All of us long for acceptance. Arsenic and Lithium are no different. They are only dangerous because they chose to commit crimes. But I believe there is still hope in them if they only let us help them."

"Don't sweat, Rae. We've done stuff like this before. We'll find a way to help them and everyone else so we can all have a happy ending!"

Raven smiled at that. Beast Boy's optimism was always a good help to her and the rest of the team.

"You're right, we just have to be patient."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Rae!"

A silence passes over the two as the turn their sight towards the city. With a renewed confidence, they take it easy. A little patience can go a long way in the long run. They were sure, then and there, that everything will be alright. They'll make sure of that when the time comes.

"…wait a minute. You were with the Doom Patrol?"

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Much later in the afternoon after the sun had set.

The City began its nightly calming. Things are slowly lessening their paces once again as most of the city's citizens return to their respective homes to retire for the night. It was that time of the day where there was no excitement at all. Everyone was basically going home and the would-be neck-breaking night life of the city won't start for another few hours.

The same is true for one particular location in the finer side of the city. The Skyline Apartment Tower. And one particular resident was going through his nightly rituals.

Dr. Allen Cannes had just finished eating his dinner and has put away his dishes in the dryer for the night. He was finishing up on preparing his nightly cup of tea for himself. Every self-respecting Englishman's delight. He picks up the saucer with the cup of tea on top and makes his way back to his living room.

In the living room, the fire place was roaring. The stereo system to one side of the room was already turned on and playing a mellow jazz. Dr. Cannes' personal favorite genre of music as it suits him and calms him down every time he hears it. He sets the saucer and cup down onto the coffee table and settles himself down on the couch. He took a deep sigh of relief as he did so.

Once settled in, he took his cup and took a sip, feeling the warm liquid's soothing effects as it rolled down his esophagus. He was, at that particular moment, completely relaxed as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"I thought it was customary to offer tea to your guests first before drinking it yourself, Doctor."

Dr. Cannes nearly choked on his tea from the sudden voice. He turned his head to the direction he heard the voice from, to his left. And there, in the light of the fire place, was Riya, sitting on the nearby recliner. And leaning on one of the armrests next to him was Sakura.

"It's been a while, Dr. Cannes," said Riya.

"…Yes, it has…" responded Dr. Cannes. "Why, may I ask, have you two come here?"

"I'm glad you still remember us, coz' we sure as heck can't forget about you, Dr. Cannes," said Sakura. "We just wanted to visit an old acquaintance, is that so wrong?"

"I would imagine you two would be very busy at the moment."

"So you've heard about our little escapades in the City, eh Doctor?"

"You two have caused quite a racket. There's an APB out on you two by the police. The Titans are probably your worst enemies at the moment."

"I guess it's been a rough week, hasn't it sis?" said Riya. Sakura nodded back at him in response.

"And I don't have to guess for what. It's about _her_ isn't it? About your 'mother' coming back from her grave. You two are trying to complete the induction process with the stuff you stole from the tech building and the chemical factory. Not to mention the two genome samples that are suppose to be with me right now. And I'll bet anything that Nikolai is behind all this."

"You catch on pretty quick, Doc, as always."

"Why have you really come to me?"

"To confirm something," said Sakura.

"What would that be?"

"You're the only other one besides Dr. Volkov who was part of the original team," said Riya, "The only other person left alive who knows about the intricate details of Project: Maria. The only other person who could have told the Titans about us," said Riya, matter-o-fact.

"…"

"You told them everything you know about the project, didn't you, Dr. Cannes?"

"Indeed I have."

"Why…?"

"I sure you know…"

"You mean that theory of yours that she was some kind of devil, a monster that wiped out her own kind? Heh, you're always speculating on these kinds of things doctor."

"I do for good reason. If she is the monster I've theorized her to be then resurrecting her only puts thousands, even millions, of lives at risk!"

"But what if you're wrong?"

"I asking you of the possibilities if I am right."

"But what if you are wrong, Doctor?" Sakura repeated her brother's question. "What if mother was something else? What if she wasn't a monster at all? For all we know, she could be humanities one saving grace."

"You have no proof of that!"

"Neither do you on your on your own theory, Doc. What makes ours any less valid than yours?"

"Maria is a great risk to the world as we know it and never have and never will willingly take that risk!"

"…tsk, you'll never change will you, Dr. Cannes," said Riya "you're still so strongly holding on to your beliefs even after, what, ten years or so? I guess that's one commendable trait you've got."

"You flatter me."

"But that is also your greatest weakness, as it has always been, Dr. Cannes."

"…"

"It's the one reason you couldn't finish Project: Maria in the first place."

"I was being cautious."

"You were being a coward! You were always afraid of all the little things that could go wrong! You barely ever broke ground during the project 'cause you kept pulling it back! All because you were just too afraid of what could go wrong and couldn't embrace what might have been right! Wasn't it you who taught us that science was synonymous with risks?"

"My boy, you must learn that there is a fine line between acceptable risks and insane ones."

"And you think this is an insane risk?"

"For the sake of innocence, yes I do."

"…well we think otherwise," declared Sakura.

"You kids… why would you even consider such risks?"

"Because on the off-chance that _we _are right about this, Maria could give us what we've always wanted. Something none of you could ever give us."

"And if that means we risk humanity," continued Riya, "then we're willing to take those risks."

Dr. Cannes was silent. Again he had underestimated these children. Of course, they were raised to be more mature than ordinary kids. But that was not all that made them what they were. All their lives they grew-up to become tools of warfare. They never had the lives of normal children, yet they longed for it. They longed for the one thing all children had that they themselves lacked. And they were willing to risk everything for it.

From an outsider's point of view, those two children were completely insane. But to anyone who could truly understand them may actually find enough merit to sympathize with them. Dr. Cannes was one of those who could understand them. But, as a scientist and a humanitarian, he could not condone their actions. So he was torn between his morals towards society and to the two children he personally helped raise. He was stuck in a rut and couldn't find a way out.

What then were his options?

"We will resurrect mother," continued Sakura, "Nothing will stop us."

"And as for you, Dr. Cannes," said Riya as he stood up from where he sat, "Consider this a warning to stay the hell out of our way."

In a lightning quick move, that Riya is so famous for, he draws his combat knife and throws it like a dart. The knife flew straight, past Dr. Cannes, and embeds itself into the stereo system that was, up to that moment, still playing jazz. The music abruptly stops and sparks fly out coupled by smoke form the impact point.

Dr. Cannes' sight followed the blade till it made the hit and he stares at his now broken stereo for a moment. He then turns to the recliner where Riya and Sakura were at.

They were gone.

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Author's Note: Sorry if the last Chapter was kinda short. I meant it that way. I hope you people are actually reading all this and liking it. Anyways, please R&R. I love it when I get reviews. Next chapter will probably come up later than usual since school is completely smothering me. Till next time then.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. Get it? Got it? GOOD!

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Titans Tower, sometime in the afternoon.

This day marked the third day where as Arsenic and Lithium had not shown up anywhere. The Titans, as well as some factions of the JCPD, had gone into high alert about those two since the incident in the JCPD Headquarters. But ever since then they have apparently gone into hiding for who knows what reason or how much longer. There hasn't been any excitement at all in those past three days except for that incident with Control Freak.

In the meantime, everyone has taken on the waiting game once again. The Titans had each found their own means of passing the time. Starfire was outside the tower tending to the gardens, one of her favorite pastimes as of late. Raven was on constant meditation as always, though she did say she was specifically trying to find the spiritual signatures of the two culprits as she spent her time in the astral plane. Beast Boy and Cyborg were on the Game Station for most of their time trying to conquer the other's high scores. Robin himself has found a nice little activity to pass the time as well as redirect his pent-up aggressions:

_**POW—THUD—POW—THUD!**_

Beating the crap out of a punching bag.

"Hiya!"

He was frustrated. And with no-one to take it out on, Robin had ventured into the gym to release said frustrations. He was very frustrated and understandably so. Three days of quiet was enough to drive up the wall. He had no evidence whatsoever to give him any lead on the whereabouts of the two teenage aggressors that the Titans have been having their butts kicked by.

_**POW—POW—THUD!**_

Robin was not in his usual fatigues, instead he wore a red tank-top along with his usual green combat trousers and black boots. He delivered a few one-two punches at the bag which swung wildly from the chain it hung on. He then did a few more jabs and hooks, and few elbowing here and there, into the bag, yelling out with every blow.

"Hiya! Tah! Huh!"

Robin always had this knack for being a perfectionist. He couldn't stand being seen a weakling by anyone including himself. And to him, he was seeing himself as weak at the moment. Weak because he was not able to capture the two teens. Weak because he couldn't make any break in the case. He hated himself to a certain degree for it.

He was the undisputed leader of the Teen Titans. Though he has no powers to speak of, his veritable genius IQ and his cunning makes him one of the best fighters in the whole world. But for him It wasn't enough. He still had something to prove, always. As the protégé of the great Batman he had to prove himself worthy of his name. As the leader of the Titans he had to prove himself worthy of the position. This was his key weakness since it made him somewhat obsessive compulsive.

This weakness had manifested itself more often than he would wish. Their greatest adversary, Slade, would attest to that. But he is gradually learning. Learning to be patient , to be calm, to be more trusting of the people around him. This wasn't something he learned from Batman. Rather from the Titans. It is good to have friends close to you. He is learning he doesn't have to carry the wait of the world on his shoulders.

Robin delivered a swift roundhouse kick towards the hanging sack of sand. The bag swung at an awkward angle and came falling back towards Robin who was ready with another leg. Robin nailed the bag dead center and the sheer force of the blow actually caused the bag to break of its chain. The large sand-filled bag hit the floor with a loud thump and rolled on its side for a few feet. Robin stood there panting and sweating.

"Yo!"

A voice called Robin's attention. He turned to see who it is only to find some kind of projectile heading right for his face. Robin's eyes grew wide as his instincts kicked in. He expertly reached out his hand in a too-quick-to-see move and grabbed the object. He brings the object close for inspection. It was an ice cold bottle of water.

"You look like you could use it, dawg."

Robin lifted his eyes to see the source of the voice. It was Cyborg. Ha looked back at the water bottle. He quickly uncapped the bottle and drank down its contents in less than five seconds but left enough to pour over his sweat-coated head. He gave out a long satisfying sigh afterwards. He then tossed the empty bottle towards a wastebasket at the far end of the room.

"Thanks," said Robin.

"No sweat, man," replied the metal teen.

"What are you doing here? shouldn't you be with Beast Boy?"

"Am I that repulsive to you, Rob."

"…sorry about that. I guess your just here to check up on me huh?"

"Well you've been here for like, what, an hour n' a half? C'mon Rob, were all a little upset that we kept getting' our butts whipped by those two and we all want to nail them as much as you do dawg. But like you said before, we got no choice but to sit n' wait 'till they show up and we could get another chance to nail them."

"…am I that obvious?" asked Robin with a slight smirk on his face.

"Yup."

"I just really want to close this case, that's all, Cy," said Robin as he walked towards a towel rack on the nearby wall.

"You've said that before about a lot of other different things, Rob. And that line is getting' pretty old."

"…Maybe, but it's the truth." Robin grabbed one of the towels from the rack and wiped his head with it.

"Oh boy…here we go again with the obsessions and the paranoia and sleepless nights of you and us on wild imaginary goose chases--"

"Alright, Cyborg, I get it already. Guess I really do need to learn to relax. Though that's never been really my strong point." He tossed his towel aside.

"We all know you've been tryin' dawg. It been working pretty well lately so don't let a couple of punks ruin the deal for you, a'ight."

"…I guess your right. I won't accomplish anything if I keep beating myself over it."

"That's the spirit dawg!"

"Though it would be nice to get some kind of break in this case."

"Well, unless they start poppin' up planting fake bombs and stuff all over the place, the only thing we can do is sit tight."

"Yeah, yeah I know. I can't believe I'm actually wanting something to go wrong, I wonder if Batman ever had any moments like thi---"

Robin's speech stopped. The boy wonder stood still, like a statue. As if a sudden wave of inspiration has struck him. Cyborg showed his concern as he stared at the still Robin.

"Yo, dawg! Everything fine up in there?"

"…Maybe…" Robin held his chin in deep thought. "Cyborg, do you have a recording of the bomb from Police headquarters _before_ it blew up?"

"Yeah…"

"Can you accurately identify the model of the warhead?"

Cyborg seemingly looked into empty space. His red, electronic eye blinked every so often.

"Yeah it's the same model used for cruise missiles during the gulf war," said Cyborg. "Why do you need to know, man?"

"The gulf war? I knew it!"

"Knew what, dawg? You figured out somethin'?"

"We may have a break in this case after all…"

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The outskirts of the city, evening.

The sun has set and the sky has turned dark. Here in the mountainous outskirts of the city, the nocturnal population has begun to make themselves heard in the dense woods. Owls in the distance can be heard hooting away at the night while various rodents scurried under fallen leaves and twigs. In the light of the pale blue moon, two familiar figures walked through he woods unassumingly.

"I never really liked the outdoors," said Lithium.

"Can I ask why?" asked Arsenic.

"It cause of its tendency to get into your clothes." Lithium said as she bent over and removed a twig that found its way into her boot.

"Don't worry about it, we're almost there anyways…actually we're already here."

The two stopped in their tracks as the reached a small clearing in front of a cliff face. The steadily worked their line of sight up the cliff face and found their target. Sitting on the edge of the cliff was what looked like an observatory, or at least what was left of one since nearly half of the structure was obviously destroyed leaving a wide gaping hole on the building's side.

"So that's where our last target is?" asked Lithium.

"Yup," answered her brother, "It was once a hideout of some washed-up wannabe villain named Professor Chang. He used the place to build a big laser cannon out of the telescope. Apparently the Titans and some other guy manage to put him down."

"What does that got anything to do with what we're after?"

"Nothing, really. Just that what we need, Chang stole a long time ago. If anything it would probably be in here, somewhere in storage."

"What are we suppose to be looking for?"

"A special lens used for laser weapons."

"But I thought the giant laser he was using was destroyed by the Titans."

"The big one was, but were after the smaller, more personal-sized ones in surplus that he's got locked up."

"So we look inside, find some off this whack-off's laser weapons, and take them apart for the lens?"

"That's the idea, yes."

"And this is the last target?"

"That's what the doctor said."

"…Finally." Lithium said in a much softer tone.

Arsenic looked at her. She was staring up at the structure. Her eyes were slightly watering.

"Hey…" he called out to her. "We're gonna succeed, don't worry about it."

"I know…" she said as she gave her brother a nod. He returned it with his own.

The two rushed at the cliff face. Just before the reached it they leapt into the air and landed of the cliff face feet first. Then they actually ran up the cliff face towards their target location above.

------------------------------------------------

The two figures entered the seemingly abandoned structure. Because of the gaping hole that was one whole side of the building, The pale moonlight gave the place an eerie feeling that would have most people shaking in their shoes. Of coarse our two characters are hardly affected by the atmosphere.

"So where is this laser thingy that we need?" asked Sakura.

"Storage is probably somewhere underground," answered Arsenic, "We need to find a way down."

The two made their way forward in to the large empty space covered in debris. Above them on a partially ruined balcony, strange shadowy figures watched the two teens with glowing red eyes. The shadowy figures faced each other and somehow delivered a massage without making an audible sound. They then disappeared into the shadows.

Arsenic and Lithium are seemingly oblivious.

"Man, this place is dark," pointed out Lithium.

"Would you rather I bring a torch?" sarcastically asked her brother walking just behind her.

In the shadows, more mysterious figures scurried all over the place silently as not to alert the two intruders. They watched Arsenic and Lithium with crimson spectacles. Arsenic momentarily darts his sight to the side. He seemed to find nothing and turns his attention back to his sister ahead.

"I'm just saying we could get done a lot faster if we had a bit more light," said Lithium, a little bit frustrated, "I can't see crud in front of my face. Who would wanna hang out in a place like this?"

From behind the two, one of the mysterious figures stepped out into the open behind the two teens who didn't seem to notice at all. Slowly the figure snuck up on them, stepping into the pale moonlight. The figure is revealed to be a rater rotund individual, covered completely in a white radiation jumpsuit. His face was covered by a weird looking gas mask that covered his head with tubes that ran all the way to his cooky-looking backpack. In his hands he held a long rod-like weapon with a tuning fork looking end. His red goggled eyes stared fixedly at Arsenics back. His weapon begun to glow with sparking red electricity indicating it was some kind of taser.

Arsenic was seemingly oblivious when the strange henchman thrust forward his weapon. But as soon as the taser rod reached Arsenic's position, the teen side-stepped and avoided the attack completely. Quickly e grabbed the weapon with his hand and gripped it tight. The white henchman expressed a stunned expression as best he could from the suit that covered him completely. Lithium was also surprised as she spun her head to assess the situation.

"Who indeed?" said Arsenic as he stared at his foe.

Arsenic yanked the taser rod towards him along with the hapless henchman who was still holding onto his weapon. Arsenic the delivered a quick backhand to the henchman's face. The henchman falls on his back and goes completely out.

The boy then quickly inspected the taser rod in his hand and carelessly tossed it to the side. As he did so, more henchmen in white appeared in all directions around them. There were about ten or so surrounding the two, some held more taser rods while others had what looked like hoses of some sort.

The two got into ready fighting stances. The white henchmen begin to aim their weapons at them.

"Who trespasses on the property!" a voice from above.

Arsenic and Lithium turned their attention skyward for the moment. The saw an aging old man also dressed in a white jumpsuit and carrying a weird backpack. His head was partially masked from the eyes up exposing his wrinkly nose and mouth. He had on red goggles and a tube running into his nostril.

Professor Chang.

"I asked who are you!" he repeated from the balcony above the crowd.

"The Super Friends, who's asking!" sarcastically retorted Arsenic.

"Huh? Wait a minute, those eyes. I know you two. You are the bad boy and girl that have been causing a lot of trouble in the city. I've been seeing you in the news much as of late."

"Glad to know we have a fan."

"What are you doing in my hideout?"

"None of your business, old man!" exclaimed Lithium.

"It's _my_ hideout! It's _my_ business! And since you two do not seem to be here on charity, you must be put down like the bad kids you are! I will not allow anyone to stop my great comeback! Seize them!"

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Back in Titan's Tower. Sometime earlier in the day.

Robin was at the computer terminal in the main room, typing away. Behind him the rest of the Titans were in their usual areas of rest.

"Pardon me, friend Robin but why must this particular case be broken when our priority is to solve it?" asked the slightly (and always) confused Starfire.

"Uh, Star, it's a figure of speech," answered Raven, "Breaking the case _is_ solving the case."

"Oh… my badness."

"So, exactly what kind of break did you figure out, Rob?"

"This," said Robin, who stopped typing and pointed up into the screen. The giant computer screen showed a blueprint diagram of some kind of sphere.

"Hmm…looks kinda familiar," said Beast Boy.

"It should," said Cyborg. "that's a cruise missile warhead used mainly in the gulf war. The same kind that Arsenic planted at JCPD Headquarters a ways back. We think this may be a big clue as to the whereabouts of Arsenic and Lithium and that crazy Doctor who's helping them. At least that's what Rob, over there, thinks."

"How does that help our investigation?" asked Raven.

"Well let me explain first," said Robin as he got up from his seat and faced the rest of his team. "Like Cyborg said this type of warhead was used mainly in the gulf war. But after that it went out of production since there was a surplus. And in recent history it was no longer in use ever since Lexcorp has been the navy's leading manufacturer of long-range weapons. Almost all of these model warheads were disposed of since no one wanted them already. There already considered to be museum artifacts."

"Dude, please, no history lessons!" said Beast Boy out of annoyance. "Just tell us how we can crack this case with this."

"Alright. Like I said this model is totally outdated so any of it that's still intact is either on display, or hidden away and that gave me an idea as to where their hideout is."

Robin turned back to his computer terminal and began typing away. Moments later, a digital map of the city lit up on the huge screen. Robin typed a bit more. The map then zoomed in on a particular area of the city which was the southern docks. A large portion of the map began to blink red as if pointing out something.

"Where is that? Their hideout?" asked Cyborg, focusing on the map.

"I think so," answered Robin.

"Friend Robin, how can you be certain that this location is truly the villains' hiding place?" asked Starfire.

"I'm not entirely certain but this is the most likely spot."

"And you say you concluded this from the warhead Arsenic used?" inquired Raven, now fully curious.

"Yes. That's because during before the war this spot was actually an old ammunition dump. During the war it was kept top-secrete since over forty percent of the navy's firepower was stored there. The site was, and still remains to be top secrete. At the end of the war it was almost emptied out but with the military concentrating on their resources on relief efforts the place was eventually abandoned and left to rot. Now it's just a big empty space under the docks. There are probably still a handful of weapons stored there though."

"And you think this is where Arsenic got that bomb."

"It's the most probable location. We have no other leads from this."

"So this might be their hideout after all," declared Starfire.

"That's right Starfire and once we know for sure, we take this fight to their turf…"

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Back at the 'abandoned' observatory.

A white henchman charged at Lithium with a taser rod. The girl was able to doge to the side and backhanded the henchman at the back of his head. The henchman fell face first into the floor, completely unconscious.

Another henchman in white from the side made a charge at Lithium. She saw him coming and dropped low to the ground managing to evade a swinging taser rod to her head. While down there, she reeled up and thrust her entire body upward in an upper-cut. She caught the henchman by the chin and sent him ten feet into the air before falling back down and hitting the floor in his back.

Another white henchman took a position above her on some ruble. This particular henchman though had a hose-like weapon instead of a taser rod. The henchman sprayed forth a blob off red goop from the hose towards Lithium's position. The girl managed to see it coming and jump back to evade. As the red goop hit the floor, it immediately solidified into a weird shaped glob.

The henchman above took aim again at Lithium and sprayed forth a steady stream of the quick-drying, red cement. Lithium wasted no time as she immediately got up from her position and ran away from the white henchman's attack. The henchman kept his hose weapon on her creating a trail of solid red globs.

Lithium tried a different strategy and started to head for the near by pile of debris. She ran towards the pile and started running upwards, a trail of red cement solidifying behind her. She reached the peak of the debris pile and vaulted off in a back flip. In mid air she drew her combat knives, and cut a light fixture hanging off a cable. The light fixture fell and crashed right into the head of the hose-wielding henchman, knocking him out completely.

Lithium landed in a crouch. Her attention is drawn to her back, She turned her head and saw two more henchmen charging at her with taser rods. She got up, turned around, and held her knives at ready. The two henchmen both thrust their tasers forward. Lithium parried their attacks with her knives. The two henchmen make repeated efforts at attacking Lithium who managed to block, parry, and evade their attempts.

One henchman thrust his taser forward. Lithium parried it to the side with her knife, forcing the hapless henchman to continue moving forward due to momentum. Lithium took this opportunity and fan kicked the henchman at the back of his head, knocking him out.

The last henchman attacked Lithium with a downward swing. Lithium used both her knives in a cross to block. She effortlessly pushed off the rod and quickly kneed the henchman in the stomach. The henchman bent over in pain leaving him vulnerable.

Lithium took this opportunity to reel back and thrust her foot forward into the henchman sending him flying backwards into unconsciousness. Lithium stood alone, triumphantly smirking.

Meanwhile, on another side of the building.

Arsenic was struggling to get free of a henchman's hold on him from behind. Another henchman was coming at Arsenic with a taser rod. Arsenic quickly thought of a plan. He hopped up just as the taser rod reached his place, up and over the henchman who was holding him. This caused the henchman with the rod to accidentally hit and shock his ally. Arsenic kicked the shocked henchman from the back sending him into his friend and onto the floor. Both are stunned to unconsciousness.

Arsenic turned to see a henchman armed with a cement hose aimed at him. The henchman sprayed forth a stream of red cement. Arsenic avoided the attack by jumping straight up. Arsenic managed to grab the railing of the balcony walkway and flipped upwards onto the balcony.

From the side, Arsenic spots two more taser-wielding whites coming at him. He readied himself as one of the two henchmen got ahead and thrust forward his taser rod. Arsenic managed to avoid the attack by stepping to the side.

Arsenic quickly grabbed the henchman's collar and threw him towards his trailing partner. Both henchmen went momentarily airborne and crashed into the nearby wall. They were immediately knocked out.

Arsenic heard stepping sound behind him and turned around. Arsenic saw the hose-wielding henchman from earlier, who somehow managed to find his way up the balcony, accompanied by three more taser-wielding whites. Arsenic smirks.

Arsenic quickly drew his .45 pistol, took very, very careful aim, and fired a single shot. The bullet found its mark as it penetrated the tube that connected the cement hose weapon to the henchman's backpack. This caused the pressurized red cement to spill out in powerful gushes all over and smothering the four henchmen. The red cement quickly dried and encased the four henchmen's bodies from the neck down, constricting them from moving anything aside from their flailing heads.

Arsenic smirked as he looked at the scene with hilarity. From behind him, a henchman snuck up on him ready to grab him by the neck. Arsenic is seemingly oblivious. The henchman crept silently ever closer, and pounced. Arsenic barely paid attention as he threw back his fist, knocking back and out the pouncing henchman in white.

Arsenic walked to the edge of the railing and hopped over it and onto the lower floor. He landed unhindered and quickly got up. He made his way to where Lithium was standing.

"Well that was fun…" said Lithium.

"This is a waste of our time," declared Arsenic, "Now I'm just getting pissed off."

"Hmph! You two really are so arrogant!" an electronically amplified voice off Professor Chang echoed from seemingly nowhere.

The two teens looked around to find nothing.

"Now I will show you what happens to bad little boys and girls who mess with other people's business!"

The floor began to quake. Arsenic and Lithium did their best to keep their balance and avoid falling over. Then suddenly from the far side of the floor, a huge explosion caused debris to fly everywhere. The two teens covered their heads from the falling pieces and dust. They raised their heads as soon as the dust cleared.

On the far end of the floor stood a twenty-foot mechanical insect of sorts. It was basically a giant globe that resembled an eye that was colored in a glossy white with a red pupil, From the globe's top parts stemmed out four mechanical legs that had a several number of joints that all ended in a two-pronged claws that served as feet.

"How do you like my latest creation?" asked the electronic voice of Professor Chang, from the robot. "I plan to mass-produce this and take over the city. But I haven't really given this thing a field test yet. I suppose that the two of you are good enough for target practice!"

The robot's red 'eye' began to glow a bright crimson. He two teen's eyes grow wide. The robot's eye reached peek brightness and fired a powerful laser beam at the teens. Arsenic and Lithium somehow managed to jump back and evade the attack.

The giant eyeball re-aimed its line of fire and started to glow bright red. Thinking quickly, Arsenic reached into his utility belt and produced a flash grenade and quickly threw it in the robot's direction. It exploded in a brilliantly bright flash which blinded the robot or at least whoever was piloting it. This caused the robot to spontaneously aim its eye to the side and shoot off-target, much to the teens' relief.

"Move!" Arsenic called out to Lithium, and the two ran behind one of the many pile of debris, out of sight.

"You cannot hide from me, children!" said Chang from within the robot. The robot began marching forward, scanning the scenery with its red eye.

"You'll have your due punishment soon enough!" said Chang. The robot blasted a few piles of debris into dust in an apparent attempt to flush out the two teens. However, Chang was aiming at the wrong spots. Behind him, the two teens, Arsenic and Lithium were hiding behind a piece of the broken balcony that more or less acted like a wall.

"Well, this is convenient." Lithium gave out a sarcastic remark.

"Actually, it is." Arsenic retorted.

"Huh?"

"That laser from that thing's eye. It's the same kind that has the lens we need!"

"That thing? This day just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"

"Don't sweat it, we can take this guy."

The robot continued to fire at random spots trying to find its prey, much to no avail. Inside, Chang was getting frustrated at his failed attempts. These kids, whoever they are were completely foiling his plans. He was planning to make a huge comeback by staging an attack on the city using mass-produced versions of his robot but the unexpected visit of these two could prove to be the proverbial monkey-wrench in his workings.

"Hey! daddy-long-legs!" Lithium's voice called out.

The robot turned its attention to the direction of the voice. It spotted Lithium on the balcony. Its eye immediately began to glow. Lithium saw this and ran to the side. The robot began firing on her missing her by inches because of her speed. The robot was then distracted.

Arsenic took this opportunity to sneak-up on the oblivious robot. Once close enough, he jumped up and landed on top of the robot, where the legs met. Arsenic drew his knife and began stabbing down on the robot's spherical body. His attacks did not work though since the robot's hull seemed to be made out of an impenetrable armor.

"You'll have to do better than that!" bellowed out Chang's voice.

The robot began to shake violently. Arsenic found it too difficult to hold on and eventually fell off the contraption and into the floor. Arsenic rolled a few feet but soon recovered.

The robot then tried something tried something new. It leapt high up into the air, so high it reached the ceiling. Before it hit the ceiling, its legs bent upwards and when it did hit it effectively clutched onto the ceiling like a real bug.

It aimed its eye downwards at Arsenic's position and started firing bolts of red laser beams in rapid succession. Arsenic jumped, hopped, and flipped every which way to avoid turning into toast. He zipped in and out from behind piles of debris to take cover. Every once and a while, Arsenic also returned fire at the robot with his .45 and manage to force the robot to misfire a few times thanks to his powerful ammunition.

Lithium saw all this and decided to take action. She ran to a spot underneath the robot and leapt with all her might. She managed to grab onto one of the robot's legs. She looks for any weakness she could exploit. She finds some. Even though most of the robot's surface area is covered in impenetrable armor, the Professor seemed to have neglected putting protection in-between the joints of the legs.

Lithium knew what she needed to do. She drew her knives and stabbed them both into the area between two joints. Sparks flew everywhere as wires and circuitry were being torn. Lithium did some yanking and eventually the leg broke apart. This caused the overall balance of the robot to disappear. Inside, Chang was having the worst time trying to keep his machine in equilibrium but fails to do so.

The robot came loose from its clutches and fell a full three stories to the ground. It made a large crash on impact kicking up a huge dust cloud. Lithium had already hopped of the robot before it hit the floor and landed right next to her brother.

The robot laid still for a few moments. It stirred and surprisingly was able to stand-up on its remaining three legs. It stood tall, red eye threateningly aiming down on the two teens.

Arsenic took a hint from his sister and quickly reloaded his pistol. He took aim and expertly shot at the robot three times. Each shot met their marks which were the areas in-between the joints of the legs. All three of the remaining legs were severed completely and the main body fell back down to earth once again, making another crash.

A few moments of silence pass. Eventually a hidden door opened up from the ruined robots body and Professor Chang crawled out in a sorry, shivering state. He looked up and the first thing he saw is Arsenic's .45 pointed directly at his face.

"Had enough?" inquired Arsenic with a smirk.

Chang merely fainted on the spot. Lithium walked over to the scene.

"Hmm, must be a senior moment," she said, "So much for his big comeback."

"He was never much of anything in the first place." Arsenic said, then looked at the wreckage of the robot. "Give me a few minutes. I'll get that lens."

"I'll watch your back," said Lithium.

Arsenic holstered his pistol, walked towards the mangled wreckage, and began his work of taking it apart. One last item they needed. Their dream was the at the closest as it has ever been to them. He couldn't help but smile as he is sure his sister feels the same way. So very close to their goal. It was the best feeling yet and they knew that if and when they'll succeed, there will come even better.

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Author's Note: sorry for the really late update. I've been cramming all week on my projects. Well now that I'm on vacation time I should be able to get back to my regular pace. As usual, please R&R and I'll update the next chapter as soon as I'm done with it.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own anybody!

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In an undisclosed location sometime after dark.

In a forest landscape in the dead of night. An eerie silence dominates the atmosphere. The darkness from inside the woods becomes darker still from the lack of the moon on this particular night. But all is not quite as something breaks the darkness and silence of the forest tonight.

An old model SUV barreled through the winding dirt road deep inside the woods. Inside, there were five people: the driver, one guy in the passenger side, and three sitting at the backseat. Almost all the occupants of the SUV wore a three-piece suite and shades. The man sitting in the center of the back was the exception, wearing a brown jacket over a flannel shirt and pants. He was of an old age judging by his white hair and balding head. He was clutching to himself a black suitcase with unknown contents.

"Are we there yet!" asked the old man rather scared.

"Almost!" yelled out the driver.

"They've got to be right behind us!"

"Don't worry about it sir!"

_**BANG!**_

Suddenly, the back widow and adjacent left rear widow shattered spraying glass inwardly towards the passengers. The men seated at the back covered their heads from the glass.

"They're here!" wildly exclaimed the old man, "STEP ON IT!"

The driver, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous, felt compelled to comply to the old man's orders. He put as much pressure as he could to the gas pedal and the SUV zoomed on ahead into the dark of the night.

Meanwhile on a nearby cliff, in the shadows of the bushes.

A young boy dressed in pure black combat fatigues was lying in a prone position holding a smoking .50 caliber sniper rifle fitted with a silencer. His face is exposed showing a youthful boyish appearance of early teens and short silver hair. His eyes were unusual since he had a green right eye and a blue left eye.

He was staring down into the forest following the red lights of the blazing SUV as it goes deeper into the woods. He put a hand to his ear which had some kind of radio piece fitted in.

"This is 'R', negative on the shot," he said into the a hidden mic, "where are you 'S'?"

"I'm on the ground," a response from the radio, "hot on their tails, copy?"

"Copy that, 'S'. follow them closely but don't move in until I get into position, copy?"

"Wilco."

The boy got up from where he was lying on his chest on to his feet. He picked up the sniper rifle and slung it on his back along with a small pack that had been lying next to him. He then began rushing into the forest at an impressively fast pace for a human let alone one his supposed age. He disappeared into the darkness.

Somewhere below him was another mysterious figure. A girl in tight fitting fatigues was making her way trough the forest's canopy. Her pretty face and auburn, chestnut hair were exposed suggesting she was also in her early teens. Her eyes differed in color just like the boy's.

She was jumping from branch to branch, tree to tree, with amazing grace and agility, not to mention strength and stamina. She was trailing the SUV by about a dozen meters from above, easily keeping pace with the speeding vehicle.

The SUV continues its way down the dirt path until it reached what would be its destination. In a clearing ahead was a relatively large mansion with a yard. The visible architecture of the building would suggest it was well over a century old. The gat was open and more men with suits and shades were waiting at the gate carrying AK-47 rifles.

The SUV entered the gates and drove right up to the front door coming to a screeching halt. The men at the gate closed it as soon as the SUV cleared that point. The occupants of the SUV quickly shuffled outwards of the vehicle and scrambled into the mansion. The men from the gates followed soon after.

Behind a nearby tree outside the mansion, the girl hid and watched the men enter the house. She placed a hand over an earpiece which was a radio.

"This is 'S' in position and ready to move in," she said, "do you copy 'R'?"

"I copy that." Responded the boy's voice. "I'm almost in position."

"What should I do?"

"Go 'round the back of the place, sneak in from above. I'll give you support. Do you copy?"

"I copy, moving in."

She abandoned her position behind the tree and began to move towards the back of the structure. It took only a few moments to get there. She was lucky no-one was around. Less hassle meant a quicker job. She surveyed the area and found a suitable entry point: the window of an attic three stories up.

It took her no effort to hop up and over the outside fence and into the mansion grounds. She then rushed up the wall an onto the attic window sill. It was locked. She unsheathed the one combat knife she had on her belt, slipped it under the window, and either unhinged or broke off the window's latch. She lifted the window and entered silently.

Meanwhile. On top of a nearby cliff, the boy set down his rifle on the ground and then set himself down in a prone position. He also set that small pack he was carrying right next to the rifle. He opened the pack and took out a hi-tech looking telescope of sorts. He placed it on the ground next to his rifle. He began work on his rifle removing the scope that was already there. He replaced it with that hi-tech looking scope. He held to his earpiece.

"'S', I'm in position," he said, "What's your status?"

"I'm making my way through the north wing. 'R', can you confirm target?"

"Hold on."

He pressed a button on the hi-tech looking scope and it hummed to life. He looked through the lens and saw a digital black and white images. The brick of the house was barely visible through the scope and was nothing but a ghostly outline but what he does see were various objects likely to be metal, and, more importantly, the multiple outlines of the skeletal make-ups of the occupants inside the house. The hi-tech looking scope was actually an X-ray scope.

He searched the house with his rifle. He scoped many skeletal figures for his proper target. He could easily distinguish them for who the were. The henchmen carried AK rifles and handguns. He found his target to be the on exception since he was the only skeleton in his scope that carried a very bright and noticeable case with him.

From the outside the case looked ordinary but in truth it was actually mainly made out of metal to be bulletproof making it dozens of times more denser than an ordinary suitcase. That's why it glowed like a beacon in an X-ray.

"Target confirmed," he said, "second floor, master bedroom, south wing. You copy 'S'?"

"Copy."

"Move in. I'll give support from out here."

"Copy that, moving in."

Inside the mansion. The girl made her way towards the south wing of the building. There was hardly any resistance to her approach since most of the henchmen it seemed were concentrated out side the target's room. She also had another advantage: the mansion was old enough that it doesn't have an electrical system hooked into it so there were absolutely no interior lighting, much less an electronic alarm system. Sneaking in was a breeze.

She was moving at a decent pace, but as she was about to round a corner leading to where the target was hiding, she froze. A beam from a flashlight momentarily illuminated the corner of the hall and disappeared. She flattened her self up against the wall and peeked from the corner.

A bunch of guards carrying flashlight and rifles are posted outside the door. Obviously that was the door her target was hiding in. She could charge in and take on the guards but the door was a fair distance away and there was still a good chance of her getting hit so she decides against it. She decides to call in her support option.

"'R' I've got multiple bogies in my way," she says into her radio, "Can you do something?"

"I gotcha."

Outside the house, the boy scans the mansion wall he was facing with his X-ray scope. Sure enough there were guards posted outside the door. He knew what his partner had in mind.

"I confirm five bogies," he said, "I'm taking them out."

He sized up his targets which look like white skeletons on his scope. He took aim, and fired. the gun made a slightly loud puffing sound due to the silencer. The bullet flew right into the outer wall, then right through the wall into the shoulder of one of the guards who went down instantly. The other four guards watched in horror as their comrade fell and began to frantically search for the culprit.

They didn't have enough time to ponder as another high-powered .50 caliber round penetrates the wall and hits another guard in the chest. He fell for good. The remaining three were now frantic

Outside, the boy reloaded his rifle and prepared another high-powered shot. He takes aim once again and spotted two guard standing close together parallel to his line of fire. The boy remembered that old saying about two birds and one stone. He took careful aim and fired. The bullet sailed through the air, the wall the first guard, then finally the second. Both fell, out of commission.

The last guard was beyond ecstatic. He began to take his rifle and fire at random directions, screaming as he did. The boy was already taking aim and firing his last shot. The guard went down hard. Silence fell back into the hallway.

"All bogies down," he said, "You're a go 'S'."

"Copy. What about the guys inside the room?"

"I can confirm three guards plus the guy with the case. I can't take them out. My bullets can't penetrate two walls."

"I copy, I'll head in myself."

The transmission was cut off. The boy set aside his rifle and slowly got up into a more comfortable sitting position. He's done all he can for the moment. Now it was up to the girl. He wasn't the slightest bit doubtful that she could handle rest.

Inside the master bedroom, the old man was cowering on top of the bed while his three remaining guards were poised with handguns drawn aimed at the door. A few moments of silence pass. Then the door slowly opens part-way with no-one to be seen behind it. The guards ready themselves as best they can.

From the partially open door, something rolled into the room. A small cylinder of sorts. The guards looked at it curiously. Eventually the object stopped rolling for the guards to get a clear picture of it. The gasp in horror.

A huge explosion bellowed from the room. A fair distance down the length of the hallway, the girl watched as the scene is cleared of flames and smoke. She walks towards the room cautiously. She enters the burnt out room.

An initial scan revealed the three guards blown all the way to the back of the room, their bodies completely unmoving. The room itself is completely covered in smoke making it impossible to see more than half a foot in front of one's face. She steadily walks towards the bed.

Seemingly unnoticed was the old man, still alive with a bloody face. He was still clutching onto the case in front of his face and he slowly let it down. From where he was on the bed he could barely see anything pass the smoky atmosphere he was however able to see some moonlight coming from the open door. And from that doorway of light he could make out a silhouette of someone coming towards him. He instantly got very nervous. He reached into his burnt jacket and retrieved a Luger. He aimed at the silhouette and fired like there was no tomorrow.

He emptied his Luger into the air. When he finally stopped shooting, he surveyed the area. He couldn't find anything at all. He took a sigh of relief.

_**THWACK!**_

A combat knife impaled the old man's neck. The old man fell back on the bed and ceased to breathe. From the smoke, the girl hops up onto the bed and makes her way up to the old man's body. She eyes the suitcase he was holding onto. She takes it and made her way outside.

"This is 'S'," she said into the radio, "mission accomplished, I've confirmed the package."

"This is 'R'. Confirmed, package is ours. Good job…sis."

"You too…bro."

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Sakura jolted from her seat as she awakened from her slumber. She groggily rubbed her eyes as reality once again took hold of her senses. She did her best to remember where she is and what she is doing. It came to her in a few moments.

She was seated on the passenger seat of the Murcielago. Her brother was driving. It was twilight and they were on their way back to the hideout in the docks, cruising down the streets of the city. She also remembered why. On her lap safely held be her arms was a round piece of metal. It looked like junk to most but she knew it was vital to their needs. It was the special lens they needed to finish the process. They were able to take it from Professor Chang just an hour ago.

"You awake?" inquired her brother from the driver's seat.

"Yeah. Uh, are we there yet?"

"it's 'bout five more minutes."

"Oh, alright…"

"…were you dreaming?"

"Huh?" that question took her by some surprise.

"Did you have a dream?" Riya asked again.

"Uh…how'd you--"

"You were mumbling in your sleep."

"Oh…yeah I was dreaming about…something."

"It was about the old days wasn't it?"

Now she looked at him. This wasn't the first time Riya seemingly read her mind. He has a real pension for doing so. Must be an older sibling thing.

"…I know how you feel," he continued.

"Oh really?"

"Don't worry. We're not who we used to be anymore sis. Were not someone's tools anymore. Everything we do, we do for ourselves."

"…Are you sure about that. Have we really changed."

"I've never pulled a trigger in someone's face since then. Nor have you ever took a knife to someone's throat."

"…"

"We're only changing for the better, that's what we should say to ourselves. Only because it's true. Everything's gonna be alright now, ok? Once we're done here, everything will get better."

She couldn't help but smile. He big brother was right. Things would get better. All in due time they will receive the happiness that has been their due for so long. Nothing can get in their way now.

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The docks, twilight.

The Murcielago cruises to a halt in front of one of the many warehouses that litters the southern docks. The night air is quiet again as the sports car's engine dies out. The two doors open and two teens climb out into the crisp night air. They shut the car doors and made their way towards the warehouse front. Sakura, all this time, carried a precious package.

"Why'd you keep that thing anyway?" she asked bluntly to her brother walking beside her.

Riya didn't know what she was asking about until he noticed that she had an arm raised and a thumb pointing to their rear. Riya looked back and saw that she was referring to the Murcielago.

"Oh, that?" he said, "I just know a good car when a see one."

"It might be traced to this place you know?"

"Like it matters at this point."

"Hmm. I guess you're right."

"Always."

They enter the building with their cargo. They disappear into the warehouse without anyone seeing. Or so they thought anyway.

To one side of the dock was a large crane used for unloading cargo from ships. The machine was easily twenty ore more stories high since it needs to clear cargo ships to latch its giant loading arm onto containers. During the day, it could be seen constantly loading and unloading cargo on and off ships and docks. But in the dead of night, it sleeps peacefully.

On top of the giant machine, perched on the edge of the long arm, Robin, the boy wonder, peered down with binoculars on a particular warehouse. In the past couple of minutes he has seen the Murcielago pull up to the building, the two teens walk out with something in their grasp. Now he watched them as the entered the building and disappeared into it.

He set aside his binoculars when the pair are no longer visible. He reaches into his utility belt and puls out what looked like a PDA unit. He went through some menus before the PDA displayed a digital map of the area. One particularly large area the map blinked red, and somewhere in that area was the warehouse the pair had disappeared into.

"Bingo," said Robin.

His theory had worked. The supposed hideout was right where he thought it would be. The presence of the two confirmed this more than anything else now there was only one thing left to do.

He pocketed away his PDA and took out his communicator.

"This is Robin," he said into the device, "Titans we are a go…"

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Titan's Tower, a little earlier in the day.

Before the sun has set and whatever mayhem took place in the woods due to Arsenic and Lithium, the Titans gathered in the tower's main room. With a possible crack in the case Robin has taken no chances. He has called this meeting to discuss what the Titan's coarse of action should be should the theoretical location of the hideout be correct.

"Ok, so first we gotta remind ourselves of who we're dealing with," he said, "since we all have our opinion we'll let everyone have a say."

The Titans nod in approval.

"First of all…" he presses a button on the computer and loads of pictures featuring Lithium are shown. "the girl who calls herself Lithium. From what we could gather from combat experience we can form some kind of personality we can relate to her. But first the technical stuff. She is a master martial artist, an expert in close combat. Surely she has been trained in many forms of combat styles so she is very hard to predict in battle. I can specifically identify some Japanese martial arts elements but most are either foreign to me or her own personal style. Cyborg?"

"As you've all seen," said Cyborg. "Her preferred weapons are twin daggers or some sorta combat knives. This suits her since she prefers close combat. Knives are short enough to be expertly maneuverable, so the don't get in the way of the user like sword and spears. She's probably been trained to fit a more spy-ish type of role. You know, sneaking around, hiding in shadows, that kinda stuff."

The Titans nod in agreement at Cyborg's statement.

"And, dude, I gotta say something about the way she fights," Beast Boy starts, "You guys probably noticed this before, but she actually enjoys fighting a bit don't ya' think? I would know being a one-kid-zoo, primal hunting instincts can be a real hoot, if you know what I'm what I'm talkin' about. Probably one of the reasons why she likes fighting up-close, ya know."

"Beast Boy is right," concurred Raven. "When she is in battle I can distinctly pick out the excitement she feels when she is fighting. To her it's probably one of the greatest feelings she could ever experience. And that is one more thing I noticed of her. She is too emotional. She lets whatever driving force she has push her into endless battle. She seems to have a hard time keeping such emotions like anger and frustration in check. I can relate somehow though."

"And I believe that is her weakness if any," Starfire started, "As a warrior of my home world, Tamaran, I am taught that the source of my greatest powers lie within my own emotions. However we Tamaranians have been also taught that too much emotion could corrupt our meaning of battle. We could fall prey to such temptations that would lead to our destruction and harm of others. I believe this will be her downfall should she not be able to learn how to 'chill out' as earthling say."

"Can't argue with that," said Robin "So when you face her, don't let her get the best of you. From what we know she is somewhat emotionally unstable so don't tempt her to do something you'll regret. Keep your distance from her when your fighting her, you got that?"

The Titans nod in approval.

"Our next subject…" Robin pressed a button on the console again. The screen replaced its pictures of Lithium with pictures of Arsenic. "the boy who calls himself Arsenic. In terms of preference in fighting style he is almost the exact opposite of his sister. He prefers ranged weapons like guns. He seems to also display good driving and piloting skills."

"As we can see," continued Cyborg, "his preferred weapon is a custom .45 handgun. He probably picked this for the same reasons his sister uses knives. Altough I'll also be bettin' that this dude ain't too bad with other forms of guns, like rifles. I see this dude in more of a supporting fire role in combat but when it comes down to it he can kick butt up-close if he needs to."

"And he's not as hot-headed as his sister either," continued Beast Boy, "The dude's always so calm n' cool in any situation it's almost annoying. You'd think he was the guy running all their operations or at least doing the 'leader' thing in a fight. Kinda reminds me of a certain boy wonder around here if you asked me."

Everyone followed Beast Boy's stare to Robin and seemed to agree.

"Hey! Don't be comparing me to someone we're trying to nail, c'mon," said Robin in objection.

"Though it is a bit true," said Raven, "He is more fitted to a leadership role. Unlike his sister who is always too emotional, he is calm and collected even in the most crucial moments. He values his control over his emotions and he also sees that as his greatest strength. He prefers to win against his adversaries using strategy rather than brute force."

"Although, this does present a significant weakness in his character," said Starfire, "In his strategizing and conceptualizing, he may present a tendency to neglect reality. Though I do not mean he is subject to schizophrenia, I would say he would loose touch with the world around him. This could cause him to falter in battle, I fear."

"So…" continued Robin. "If we go up against him, make sure you don't end up in a corner otherwise he'll exploit whatever opportunities he could get. If you can, break his concentration enough to gain some ground. Got it?"

The Titans nod in agreement.

"One last thing to discuss. We all know that those two are working with a mastermind named Dr. Volkov. Now as far as we've heard from his old pal, Dr. Cannes, Volkov is a power addict. He tried to gain power before with the same experiment. Thankfully he didn't succeed. But now he's on the verge of completing the work he started all those years ago. And he's been using those two kids in doing it too. Now I say 'use' because I believe he is simply manipulating those two to do his will, and those two kids probably find no other choice but to follow his orders since they pretty much want the same thing. But I know Volkov will turn his back on them the first chance he gets. I've dealt with many of his kind before. In short, he is a sadistic, manipulative, power hungry madman. He is the true enemy here. for the city's sake…and for the sake of those two…he must be stopped."

The Titans gave a nod in agreement.

"Alright that's all we have to talk about at the moment."

"So…" said Beast Boy, "now what?"

"You guys prepare the best you can. When we get down to the real fighting we'll need every advantage we can get."

"Why just us? You goin' somewhere, Rob?"

"I'm gonna go stake out the location that we think they are hiding out in. If luck has it I'll confirm the location and contact you guys. Once I do…we put an end to this."

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The Secrete Hideout, back at the present.

"Well done, children," said Dr. Volkov.

Sakura handed over the lens which the stole from that other scientific super villain. Dr. Volkov gave the object a close inspection. He seemed satisfied at the results produced by the two teens. They lived up to their standards of success which is to say a job done fully at any cost. They always have.

"I trust you did not go through much trouble to obtain this?" asked the Doctor.

The two teens, Riya and Sakura, looked into each other for a moment.

"…nah," they both said simultaneously.

"Finally, the process can be completed. Ah, so close to the goal at hand. All that is needed to do is to install this at the facilities we've set-up and we can continue with the process."

"It would be a lot sooner if we hadn't moved the set-up away from this place," said Sakura.

What she was talking about is the move they did three days earlier. When they seemingly took the break from their missions to collect the various gizmos they needed to complete the induction process, they were actually taking time off to relocate the 'corpse'. They picked a nice little spot away from the city and was able to provide the proper facilities which were not provided in their current dwelling.

"Oh come now child. I have already explained the reason for the move. No need to be impatient, my dear, we are closer to our goal more than ever. Nothing can stop us now."

_**BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!**_

An alarm sounded, breaking the quiet atmosphere of the room. Red lights on the walls were blinking in rapid paces. The party of three looked up, suspiciously, at the wailing alarms.

"What in the blue hell…?" Sakura blurted out.

"…I think… it's them," said Riya.

"Who?"

"Who else…?"

He moved towards the computer and typed away at the keyboards. He pulled up several security feeds from several different cameras in several different locations. In one particular image he spots movement. He zoomed in on that image. A group of five very familiar teens can be seen.

"It would seem we have underestimated them," said Dr. Volkov, "We must do something or else they'll put a stop to our operations… and you two will never be able to se _her_ again…"

Riya and Sakura visibly winced at the thought.

"…Don't worry, Doc," said Riya. "We'll never let that happen. You go on ahead of us and prepare the set-up coz' nothing else matters at this point. We'll stay here and distract those morons."

"Are you sure about that, my child?" asked Dr. Volkov.

"Oh, we're sure, Doc," said Sakura, "Chances are they came here thinking this is the last fight there ever will be between us and them."

"Most likely it will be," said Riya.

"And if they really want a fight to remember…" Sakura drew her knives and twirled them about.

"…We'll give it give it to them." Riya drew his pistol and twirled it around with his finger.

Their long hard struggle would come to its climax anytime soon. And they sure as hell are ready for it.

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Author's Note: Man I hate writer's block. Sorry if this update is a bit late and an advanced apology since the next one will likely take up some extra time to get done too. But if you think the end is coming up, think again! I've got a bigger conclusion in mind and it would span a few more chapters.

Anyway. Please Read & Review. If you have any comments, suggestions, violent reactions, send them all my way!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I make no claims to any profits from owning the Teen Titans. Why? I don't own them in the first place!

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The secrete hideout, very late into the night.

The hallways are silent. Not a sound exhibited itself in the dimly lit atmosphere. A creepy feeling would envelope anyone brave, or crazy, enough to wander these halls at this time. But this creepy silence would not last long enough as a sound of a dinging elevator broke the atmosphere as it echoed down the long hallway. At one end of the hall, a double elevator door opened. Five familiar teens emerged.

The Teen Titans cautiously exited the elevator found at the end of the hallway, ready for a trap, an alarm, all the usual welcoming gimmicks found in these secrete hideouts. Fortunately enough, they are greeted by none such devices and the slowly progressed forward.

"Well…" said Beast Boy, "so far, no bodily injuries on our part. hehehe…"

The changeling's attempt to lighten the mode was ineffective as the team continued their slow trek forward, ready for anything.

"Alright, everyone," called out Robin, "let's get serious. Remember all that we talked about a while back and be prepared for anything comin' your way, understand?"

The team collectively nodded in affirmation to Robin's statement. They all knew the importance of this mission. Their success here and now could lead to the final break in the case.

"Alright, we'll split up and look fo--"

"Dude, no way we're doin' that!" exclaimed Beast Boy, "Don't you know splitting up never works!"

"Uh, I'm goin with BB on this one, man," concurred Cyborg, "I mean, these guys are pretty tough and no way we can take them alone, dawg."

"I would agree, Robin," agreed Starfire, "It would see that the most logical strategy in this situation is to stay as a collective."

"Still," spoke up Raven, "We could spend all night searching if we stay together like this,"

Robin slapped a palm to his face in frustration. His team has offered pretty good arguments but they we're also trying to save as much time as possible. With the unpredictable nature of their foes it would be recommended to find them and stop them as soon as possible. He found a compromising enough solution.

"Ok, fine," said Robin, "We split up _in groups._"

"Boo-ya, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout, dawg," said Cyborg.

"Starfire, you're with me," continued Robin, "Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven, you guys stick together. Are we all cool with that?"

The team gave their varying signs of agreement.

"Now that we're settled, let's move out!"

The Titans split into their assigned groupings. They all continued to move forward again down the hallway. The hall way was lined with multiple doors and the Titans didn't really know where to start. But they knew that they had to start somewhere in order to get this mission on the road so they simply picked at random. Robin and Starfire chose a door on the right side of the hall while Beast Boy, Raven, and Cyborg chose a door on the left.

After they had disappeared into their respective doors silence returned to the dimly lit hallway. The silence continued on for a moment when it is again broken by a sudden presence. From the area near the elevator doors, the notorious duo, Arsenic and Lithium appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Looks like we managed to give them the slip," said Lithium, "especially that Goth chick, Raven. We can really hide from her emphatic powers now, unlike before."

"That just shows we can find ways around them," said Arsenic, "I got those two on the right."

"Good, I get the three on the left."

Lithium started to move forward to where three of the Titans disappeared into a door but she is stopped when her brother placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked behind to see what's up.

"Remember, we're on a time-limit," Arsenic said, "Check you watch."

The both faced each other and raised their respective left arms. They each wore a Casio G-shock Sports watch of the same type. Both were also showing the Timer function, counting-down in a synchronized pace.

_37m : 48s… 37m : 47s… 37m : 46s… 37m : 45s…_

"The Doc should be clear of the city by now," continued Arsenic, "Our main objective here is to try and stop the Titans from continuing this little 'cat n' mouse' game."

"By getting rid of the 'mouse' to chase" asked Lithium.

"Exactly. For the meantime we keep them busy. Once our time is up here, we'll let the _fireworks_ take over for us in finishing job. They won't have anything to follow after that, and they'll stay out of our way."

"Perfect plan. Though there is still the off-chance that they can figure-out what we're up to."

"We'll make sure that stays an off-chance. Let's go."

The two nodded to each other in understanding. They moved forward and separated ways as they reached the doors from which their respective bounties have exited through. They disappeared into the doors. The hallway once again became silent.

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On Robin and Starfire's side.

The pair had reached what looked like a large space for storage. Piles of wooden boxes, some empty others filled with questionable content, littered the wide open space, some piles reaching a full two stories up. Most of the wood was discolored due t old age. The room's ceiling was about a whole two and a half stories up from the ground. The entire space was dimly lit by a scant few working lamps that were hanging overhead.

The room was particularly dusty and stank of rotting wood and gun powder. Signs of a long history in war. Now the place was desolate, so much so that not even the dirtiest vermin would not populate the dark, dusty, space.

All was quiet as usual.

"Looks like storage for weapons and parts," said Robin, breaking the silence, "This may be where they're getting most of their arsenal."

"Though, as you stated during the briefing, Robin," said Starfire, "most of the wares in this place have been cleared away since time's passing."

The two Titans moved forward searching the space for signs of life. They wandered around for a few moments having no luck whatsoever. Looking behind piles of wooden crates and finding nothing but useless junk got tedious really quick and Robin finally decides that they are simply wasting time.

"This is a waste of our time," concluded Robin, "Starfire, let's get out of here."

"Agreed," replied the alien girl, "Should we not also check on our friends' progress?"

"Good idea."

Robin took out his communicator and turned it on.

"Cyborg, can you hear me?" said Robin into the small device.

Nothing. He looked at the screen and noticed he had nothing but static on the communicator.

"Looks like we can't contact them," he said, "Radio waves can't travel underground. We'll just have to meet up with them later, I guess. Let's go, Star."

Starfire nodded. They both started to walk in the direction of the door from which they entered. And just as they were about to reach it and make an exit…

"Leaving so soon…?"

A voice echoed through-out the space from an unknown origin. Robin and Starfire spontaneously halted in their tracks and did a complete one-eighty. The searched the surrounding area but could not find the source of the voice, though they recognized it immediately.

"Arsenic…" said Robin, "Come out and face us!"

Robin's voice echoed through-out the wide space but received no response for a while. The two Titans continue to search persistently.

"…I should commend you guys," Arsenic's voice said, "I'd never think you'd actually find our little den in the city."

A singular applause that could only come from the hidden teen could be heard. Robin and Starfire did their best to determine the origin of the clapping sound but the echoes made by the large spaces and piles of wooden crates made that practically impossible.

"No matter where you hide, we'll fish you out eventually," said Robin.

"And once we do, it will be, as it is said, 'game over' for you!" said Starfire.

The clapping stopped. Robin and Starfire got into fighting stances and started to slowly walk back into the darkness of the room, ready for any inevitability.

"What makes you think this ends here?" Arsenic voiced.

"We shut down your little operation right here and now!" said Robin.

"Heh, you mean 'Project: Maria'. Do you even truly know what it is."

"We know enough from what we've learned. This 'Maria' as you call her may be the biggest threat this city will face in a long time. She is potentially a biological weapon created by an ancient civilization that died out over a hundred millennia ago."

"Sing me a new tune bird boy. I'm asking you what it is…_to me._"

"…you think she is some kind of mother to you?"

"Think…? I know."

"I could understand what you might be going through but--"

"Aw hell, not that line again. When will you get it through your head? You will never understand, no-one ever will. Not unless you know what it feels like to be in our shoes. You were never used as weapons for some nameless administration who wanted nothing of you but to turn into the perfect tools of war. You were never orphaned since birth. You, at least at one point or another, had people around you that you can call 'family'…We never had that privilege"

Robin is silenced at that.

"Please," said Starfire, "we can sympathize with you but understand that our first priority as Titans is to ensure the safety of all who reside in our fair city. You repeated infraction to the law has forced to take apprehensive actions towards you. And if your project is truly as dangerous as we have been led to believe then we can not allow the continuation of it."

"You still don't get it, do you? We never wanted to involve anyone else. We don't want to hurt anyone else who has nothing to do with us. We're doing all this for ourselves and ourselves alone. All because we have _nothing_ else left to hope for. How could someone like you, with everything to hope for, understand us?"

Now Starfire is the one who is silenced. By now the two Titans had reached the center of the room and have stopped.

"Let me make this as clear as possible. We've come too far, risked everything we had, to get to this point. We will succeed…"

A few moments of silence.

"…and nothing will stand in our way!" Arsenic's voice came directly behind the two Titans

Robin and Starfire's eyes grew wide. They turned around as quickly as they could to see behind them. But it was too late as all they saw was Arsenic charging headlong at them.

------------------------------------------------

On Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven's side.

The trio had found themselves coming down a relatively long staircase in side a dimly lit tunnel from where they entered through the door. They eventually make their way to another door at the bottom of the staircase. It was a thick, heavy-looking, steel door with a plaque on the side that simply read: 'SUB. DOCKS'. The party looked at each other with inquiry. Beast Boy then stepped forward and tried the door. It was unlocked. Slowly and cautiously, he opened it completely. The three entered the room in a similar fashion.

What awaited them was a very, very large space. They stood on a concrete floor that ran parallel to a very wide, very deep pool of sea water and another concrete floor on the far side. The ceiling was about three stories up. Above them, there were several cranes stemming from the high walls, slowly rusting away into oblivion.

One crane in particular, which was the one closest above the three, still carried a load of six empty tubes, probably missile fuselages. Evidence that this place was left in a hurry.

On the far side of the space, there were storage compartments with a few crates and containers strewn about. In the center of the space was long, wide, high metal bridge that connected the two floors, that stood about thirty feet above the water.

The Titans moved forward, taking caution. They made sure they were ready for the likely eventualities like a trap or an ambush. So far they were greeted by none such things but have yet to decide if that was really a good thing or something to be worried about.

The silence of the room was already worrying enough

"What is this place?" asked Beast Boy in a tone of voice that was neither too loud to echo nor too soft not to be heard by his teammates.

"Well," said Cyborg, "We already said this facility was used as a storage by the navy in secret back in the day. Looks like they docked submarines here as well."

"Makes ya' wonder what else this place was used for."

"All the more reason to find those two and stop whatever their doin', dawg"

"Speaking of 'finding', Rae, you feelin' anything over there?"

"Hmmm…I'm afraid not," replied Raven, "They've become quite adaptive to my empathic senses that I can't sense them unless their three feet away from me…"

"Bummer…"

"Let me try it my way," said Cyborg as he stepped forward, ahead of his teammates.

Cyborg stopped in the middle of the concrete floor. He places a palm on the side of his head. His electronic eye started to glow a bit brighter. He slowly swivels his head up, down, left, and right covering the entire space as best he can.

His colleagues, Beast Boy and Raven, watched patiently form behind him. They knew what he was doing. His electronic eye was also designed a scanner with multiple functions. They knew he was probably scanning the large area using various spectrums like infrared, thermal, night vision, ultraviolet, and the sort.

Cyborg scanned most of the room but seemingly found nothing to report. He turned back to his comrades with a forlorn look that the other two soon shared.

"Looks like this place is clear," said Cyborg, "We'd best clear out."

"Can you contact Robin and Starfire and see if they found anything?" asked Raven.

"Sure thing, Rae."

Cyborg opened the communicator that was built in his arm. The small LCD screen turned on but all he could get was static.

"Hmm, looks like there's no signal down here, guys. We're gonna have to meet them later."

The three started moving back towards the door to leave. Above them, the crane still carrying its load of three empty missile fuselages seemed still, unmoving.

"…wait!" said Beast Boy all of the sudden.

The three Titans stop directly under the crane still carrying its load. Cyborg and Raven turn to look at Beast Boy who was standing stark still with a look in his face that said he's got something.

"You got something, dawg?" inquired Cyborg.

"I thought I…" Beast Boy didn't complete his answer.

Beast Boy turned around and looked back into the wide docking area. There didn't seem to be anything there at the moment. Beast Boy, however, still had that suspicious look of inquiry plastered on his face. His teammates wait curiously for some kind of insight from the animorph.

"I hear…something," said Beast Boy, "can't tell exactly where…"

Beast Boy immediately morphed into a rabbit. The green rodent stood on its hind legs, its long ears twitching every now and then. Beast Boy scanned the room with his long bunny ears hoping to pick up the suspicious sound he heard, or at least thought he heard, a second ago.

His picks up something. A sort of metallic tapping sounds, barely audible. Followed by something like_ ping_ sounds that were sequentially getting faster. He knows he's heard the sounds before. He can distinctively recall from memory that the _pings_ that he is hearing right now are the sounds of… a steel cable slowly breaking apart… directly above him.

Beast Boy's rabbit eyes bulged. He looked up above him where the sound was coming from. He saw the cranes load, the three empty tubes, shake a bit. The sound was getting loader.

"Hey, do you guys hear that?" asked Cyborg, hearing the sound for the first time.

"Something is wrong!" said Raven.

Beast Boy quickly transformed back into his elfin form, pointed directly above them, and yelled the cliché but still effective warning: "Look out!"

Above, the crane's load was shaking uncontrollably until a load metallic snap echoed through-out the space. The load fell towards where the Titans were standing. Needless to say, the three heroes didn't stay in the same spot for long.

The three Titans dived out of the way as the heavy mass of debris came crashing down upon the spot the were standing on just a seconds ago. The impact creates a deafening bang as it hit the floor and kicked up a huge dust cloud that completely smothered the three Titans sprawled on the floor a few feet away.

The momentary chaos finally subsided as the dust clouds settle away. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven pick them selves up from the floor. They dusted themselves and looked at the spot they where previously standing on. All they saw was a mangled wreckage of the fuselages sprawled all over the concrete floor.

"Thought you guys would never notice me."

The Titans eyes grew wide at the sudden, familiar voice that called out to them. The did a complete one-eighty and find exactly who they were expecting. Lithium was leaning against the wall, arms crossed in a casual way, one hand below, gripping a combat knife, the other hand slightly raised, twirling a second combat knife.

"We really underestimated you guys, thinking you would never find our little hideout," said Lithium, "You guys really do live up to the legends we've heard about you, before even coming to this city. Looks like I'm in quite a pickle tonight…"

Lithium stepped away from the wall and began a slow pace towards the Titans who correspondingly get into ready fighting stances.

"Well, you sure seem all calm and cool," pointed out Beast Boy, "You oughta' know what kind of trouble your in!"

"What does it matter now. The only point here is that you guys came here to stop us, right?"

"And stop you we shall," said Raven, "This ends here."

"You best just give-up, girl," said Cyborg, "You may have beaten us once or twice but we'll make sure we won't be goin' easy on you this time. Don't make us have to give you a harder time than you deserve."

"Hmmm, sorry but it's way too late for any of that," said girl still casually twirling her knife, "We've already gone too far and went through too much trouble already and we have no plans of throwing in the towel any time soon. We're just too close to our goal."

"Your 'goal' could potentially destroy all of western civilization as we know it!"

"What makes you think we'll just let this blow off and let you finish with your little experiment!" rhetorically asked Raven.

Lithium stopped twirling her knife and settled both her hands by her side.

"You should know that we never wanted anyone else's involvement in what we do," said Lithium, "Our goal was for ourselves and ourselves alone. We never wanted to hurt anyone else. We're not like those whacked-out nut jobs who want 'world domination' or some crap like that. We don't even really like the fact that we've been doing crimes to get what we want. We just want what has been denied us since the beginning of our existence."

"Maybe so," said Beast Boy, "But that is still a lousy excuse for endangering the lives of innocent civilians!"

"…Hmm, just like all the other's. It's people like you that prevents us and our 'mother' to be together. Nobody ever cares to look at it from our perspective, our point of view. Tsk! It's just as well I just talk to a wall if nobody even cares to understand us."

"But we do understand," said Raven "We can sympathize with you and your brother."

"Talk is cheap. Prove to me how you can understand growing-up being treated as a piece of equipment where all you have to look forward to are a continuing string of endless assignments to fight battles you can't even understand, to go through hardships without a clear reason. To look forward to nothing else the putrid stench of sweat and blood day after day. I never learned the meaning of affection until I was eight-years-old."

"Uh…umm…"

"Do you have any idea what it's like to feel like you've never been born yet?"

The Titans are silenced, they couldn't find a response.

"I'm wasting my time talking to you like this. Just as well, I simply cannot allow you guys to mess-up our operations any further."

Lithium got into a ready fighting stance.

"You're right when you said it ends here," Lithium continued, "And by that I mean: it's the end of the line for you!"

Lithium charges the three Titans, head-on.

------------------------------------------------

Back at the Storage Room.

Robin and Arsenic were currently dueling it out kung-fu style. Robin took a swing at Arsenic with his bo staff. Arsenic managed to duck out of the way and countered the attack by sweep kicking Robin off his feet. Robin fell on his back with a thud.

"Oof!"

Arsenic took this chance to make an attack. He brings his foot up high and readily slammed it down towards Robins sprawled figure. Robin saw the attack coming and managed too roll out of the way just as Arsenic's boot makes contact with the concrete floor.

Robin quickly swung his legs upward, flipping himself back into an upward standing position. Robin held his bo staff at ready. Arsenic came t the boy wonder with his combat knife. Arsenic swung down as Robin blocked with his bo staff at a ready horizontal position. The blade and staff made contact. Using his super strength, Arsenic managed to push Robin down to his knees by pushing his knife down on the hero's staff. Robin did his best to struggle against Arsenic's push.

Luckily enough for Robin, it was then that Starfire made a move. Starfire came soaring down on Arsenic with green charged fists. Arsenic saw the Tamaranian princess as she came barreling down at him a little too late. Starfire slammed directly into Arsenic, yelling out a war cry, pulling him away from Robin.

"Yaargh!" "Dah!"

The two entangled teens blazed a green trail as they flew across the space and crashed into a pile of wooden crates. The pile exploded into splinters that flew across the floor. From within the crash site, Arsenic had hold of Starfire's hands and was steadily forcing her off of his figure. He created enough space between them for him to insert a leg in-between their two forms and kicked her off.

"Argh!"

Starfire flew backwards and crashed into another pile of crates. Arsenic pulled himself out of the mess and stood back up on the floor. He turned his head in time to spot a particular boy wonder heading for him, bo staff at ready.

Arsenic decided to launch an early attack at Robin first. Arsenic leapt forward into a sipping kick. Robin stopped in his tracks and rose his staff soon enough that it is able to meet Arsenic's airborne foot that was directly heading his way. Arsenic's attack was not able to get to Robin but was more that sufficient to force Robin to release his grip on his bo staff.

The staff flew off of Robin's grasp and rolled into a far spot on the floor. Arsenic landed in a near-crouching fighting stance. Robin got into a similar stance, ready for an offensive.

Arsenic leapt forward at robin with a flurry of jabs, hooks, and kicks. Robin was able to dodge, block, and parry in accordance with Arsenic's attacks. Robin even managed to gain an offensive at one point.

Arsenic threw a punch that missed Robin by a mile. Robin, not throwing away a good opportunity, grabbed Arsenic's outstretched arm and used his leverage to flip Arsenic's figure above him and slammed down to the floor, all by the arm.

"Dahh!"

Robin continued to hold on to Arsenic's arm as he sprawled on the floor. Robin brought a foot up and threw it down at Arsenic's sprawled figure. Arsenic saw it coming and brought his other hand up to catch the incoming limb.

Robin was caught by surprise by this. Arsenic countered Robin's tactics by swinging both his arms forward, effectively tossing Robin's figure off of him. Robin flew through the air for a short distance before ha corrected himself in mid-flight and managed to land in a crouch.

Robin quickly got up and turned around to look back at Arsenic. A little too late though as the said aggressor was already charging at him with an open palm thrust. Robin barely had enough time to block the attack with his own arms. Arsenic's palm thrust met Robin's block with enough force to send the Titan leader flying backwards, wailing.

"Daaahh!"

Robin's figure flew all the way into another pile of wooden crates. The impact sent the pile and whatever contents crashing around Robin's figure, trapping the boy wonder under a hill of dust and debris for the meantime.

Arsenic stood surveying the area. From behind, another pile of crates exploded upwards. Starfire emerged from the cloud of dust. She charged a starbolt on each hand and threw it at Arsenic's direction. Arsenic saw the bolts of green energy and quickly flipped out of the way as the bolts exploded on the ground. He came to a stop just a few feet from his original spot and stared up at Starfire who was staring back.

"You are most aggravating, Arsenic," said Starfire, "I now humbly ask you to discontinue this pointless battle and surrender yourself!"

"That the best you can do, Princess?" replied Arsenic.

He dashed towards the spot underneath the floating Titan. Starfire quickly responded by flying backwards and throwing a flurry of starbolt in Arsenic's direction. Arsenic evaded with ease by simply side-stpping in his dash to avoid the green-hot bolts of energy. He leapt up using his great strength all the way up to Starfire's current height. In mid-air, Arsenic performed a spinning kick into Starfire's figure. Starfire, however was able to dodge the attack completely by quickly flying to the side and Arsenic's foot met nothing but air.

Arsenic reoriented himself in mid-air from the from the failed attack and managed to land on top of a pile of crates. Starfire turned around in the air to face her opponent, simultaneously preparing a starbolt in each hand.

"What is it that you're fighting for?" asked Arsenic.

Starfire responded with nothing but a blank stare.

"Tell me. What is your reason for being a Titan? Why fight like this?" asked Arsenic.

"…I am a Titan because I choose to side myself to the principles of truth and justice. It is my duty to protect the lives of innocent people to the best of my abilities."

"So that's it? You chose your duties, huh?"

"Is it not everyone's freedom to make the choice of their duties?"

"I've never had that freedom. All my life I've been stuck in a rut not knowing what my purpose is or why I should even exist. Everything I did, I did out of someone else's orders and I reaped no satisfaction from them whatsoever."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I asked you what was your purpose. Doesn't it go further than just defending this city and it's people?"

"What else is there for we to strive for?"

"C'mon princess. You telling me that you don't want to hit it off with boy wonder-butt over there?"

Starfire stared blankly before deciphering the statement. When she did, her eyes grew wide and her face turned beat red in a huge blush. Thus leaving her guard completely down. Something Arsenic readily took advantage of.

He leapt off his perch and tackled Starfire's floating figure. Both teens crashed into, and straight through another pile of crates. Afterwards, the inevitably hit the ground, Starfire first.

"Argh!"

Arsenic pushed off of her as soon as he himself felt the impact. Hi flipped in the air and landed a few feet in front of Starfire. The Tamaranian princess quickly got up and faced Arsenic once again. Arsenic merely grinned at her and pointed behind her. Starfire then noticed a creaking sound from behind her. She took a quick second to see what it was a saw the pile of crates crashing down upon her. She couldn't react in time, hence she was buried under a pile of ruble.

Arsenic stood triumphantly before he himself notices a weird sound. A swishing sound came from behind him. Knowing what those sounds might entail, he reflexively rolled to the side dodging three birdarangs as they impaled themselves onto the concrete floor.

Arsenic turned around to the direction from which the projectiles came from. Three more of the same came flying at him. Thinking fast, he quickly drew his .45 pistol and shot all three birdarangs out of the air. The three projectile weapons disintegrated as they were hit by powerful .45 caliber rounds.

"Yargh!"

That came from behind Arsenic. He turned around quickly just in time to block an attack from Robin's bo staff with his pistol. The bo staff was hooked between the .45's trigger guard and the lower barrel making it impossible for Arsenic to take a shot at Robin. Not that he wanted to anyway.

"What's your point with all this 'purpose' and 'freedom of choice' crap, Arsenic?" asked Robin.

Arsenic summoned enough of his strength to push off the boy wonder. Robin skidded a few feet away from Arsenic but quickly recovered and held his bo staff at ready. Arsenic similarly recovered and aimed his .45 threateningly at Robin, though he knew he didn't want to use it in this way.

"My point?" replied Arsenic, "My point is that we all have an underlying goal. No matter what kind of excuse we give it like 'duty' or some crap like that. There is something we all desire deep within ourselves. That thing is our purpose for living, for existing, Wouldn't you agree with me, Robin?"

"Maybe, but that still doesn't explain why you're doing all this."

"If you could the thing you desire the most, would you give less than everything to have it?"

"…Tell me then. What is it that you desire the most?"

"…To have meaning. To exist."

Arsenic quickly holstered his weapon and charged headlong at Robin who was ill-prepared for that sort of attack. Arsenic managed to grab onto Robins bo staff eliminating the boy wonder's leverage with the weapon. Arsenic yanked the staff out of Robin's grip and tried to jab at Robin. Robin, sensing the release of his weapon jumped back immediately avoiding Arsenic's attack.

Robin got back into a fighting stance as Arsenic tossed the bo staff away. Arsenic got into a ready fighting stance as well, prepared to take on the Titan leader.

"Aargh!"

From behind Arsenic, a sound of a war cry and crashing debris erupted. Arsenic looked behind him to see that it was Starfire recovering from her collapsed state. She hovered a few feet above the ground preparing starbolts in each hand. Arsenic looked back at Robin in front of him, who was still in a fighting stance. He was surrounded.

Arsenic simply grinned and, with his hands, motioned for the two Titans to have at him once again. The two annoyed Titans complied. Robin charged forward simultaneously with Starfire barreling down on Arsenic's figure.

------------------------------------------------

In the Submarine Docks.

Cyborg charged at Lithium with a flurry of jabs whish she easily blocked and parried using her twin combat knives. Cyborg threw a punch but missed Lithium completely as she seemingly just disappeared. Cyborg went bug-eyed for a moment before deciding to look down. Lithium was crouching low smirking up at the metallic hero. She sprung up in an upward slash with Cyborg barely evading.

Cyborg stumbled backwards a bit as Lithium landed. Cyborg looked down on his chest area to find a long diagonal gash in his armor. He looked back up at Lithium who was simply smirking at him. She charged him. Cyborg went into a stance usually taken by basketball players in defensive positions. Lithium was about to come close enough for Cyborg to grab her but she dropped down to the floor at top speed into a slide She slid in between the Titans spread legs which caught Cyborg off guard. He had no time to react as she stopped in her slide, hoped up, spun around, and delivered a swift but powerful kick into Cyborg's back.

"Daaah!"

Cyborg fell face first onto the concrete floor. Lithium landed back on the ground. She noticed a noise from behind her a turned around to look. A green lion was charging towards her. She quickly sheathed her knives and readied herself. As Beast Boy in lion mode pounced her, she grabbed his tow out-stretched paws, rolled backwards on her back allowing Beast Boy to fly over her, placing foot on Beast Boy's mid-section and kicking him off of her. Beast boy flew backwards and landed near where Cyborg was recovering. Lithium stood over the two.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Lithium heard the distinctive chant of Raven just to her side. Raven was floating above Lithium firing bolts of black energy. Lithium started flipping backwards to evade Raven's continuing attacks with her black telekinetic bolts. Lithium was almost too agile to be hit at all as Raven has absolutely no success in hitting her.

Lithium stopped momentarily giving Raven a chance to get a solid hit. Raven threw one last bolt of black energy towards Lithium. Lithium countered by holding both her palms out and 'catching' Raven's attack. A scenario that seemed very familiar to the sorceress floating above. Lithium threw the black bolt back into Raven's floating figure. Not being anyone who gets beaten by the same trick twice, Raven immediately dodged to the side as the bolt flew into oblivion.

Raven was however off-guard for those few moments so Lithium took the moment to attack by jumping up into the air and delivering a downward karate chop towards Raven's cranium. The dark Titan managed to raise a barrier of black energy with her arms to block just in time. Still, the force of the blow brought her down to the ground on her butt.

"Oooff!"

Lithium landed just a few feet away from Raven who had yet to recover. Lithium prepared to attack the sorceress when she was distracted by the sound of thunder. She looked behind her to see the origin of the sound. It wasn't a welcoming sight.

"Boo-ya!"

Cyborg was riding on top of a large green elephant, charging at the two girls. He was also aiming a sonic cannon in Lithium's position. He fired. Lithium, along with Raven who just fully recovered, jumped out of the way as a beam of blue sonic energy illuminated the air. The beam struck bare floor.

Cyborg continued to fire on Lithium where she landed, not having much success. After the last blast, Lithium stopped jumping backwards and dashed towards the charging green elephant. Beast Boy gave a trumpeting sound from his trunk and gained speed. As the two were about to clash, Lithium leapt into the air up and over Beast Boy's elephant form and delivered a swift kick to Cyborg who was riding in top.

"Oooff!"

Cyborg fell off backwards onto the concrete floor. Lithium landed just in front of him. Ahead, Beast Boy skidded to a halt. He transformed in to a bull as he turned around and charged again at a faster speed towards Lithium. Lithium simply stood, smirking. Just as Beast Boy in bull form. She side stepped just in time to let the bull pass her. With momentum carrying him, Beast Boy was unable to stop before colliding into a recovering, make that yelping, Cyborg.

"Yaah!"

The two Titans crashed into one another and sprawled over the floor. Lithium stood watching the two boys in amusement when she noticed a movement from behind. Raven had snuck-up on Lithium by teleporting through a dark portal on the floor. Raven delivered a swift kick that nailed Lithium in the mid section and sent her sliding a few feet back.

"Argh!"

Lithium recovered soon enough to see Raven telekinetically floating towards her with ready kicks. Lithium blocked with her arms as Raven delivered more kicks to Lithium's figure. Lithium managed to tough it out with her arms long enough for Raven to get tired. Noticing the slack in Raven's following kick, Lithium made her counter-attack by grabbing onto Raven's leg, spin her around, and tossing her into the air.

"Woah!"

Raven flew through the air flailing, unable to gain control of her flight, so she ended up making a splash as she fell into the giant pool in the center of the huge space. Lithium smirked amusedly as she stood over the pool of water.

"Hey, if anyone is gonna do that to Raven, It ought to me!"

Beast Boy's recognizable voice yelled out closer to Lithium than she would have wanted. She turned to see that Beast Boy had transformed into a Silverback Gorilla, throwing down it's giant muscular arms down to crush her. Lithium jumped backwards in time to avoid being turned into pizza. She landed a few feet away from the giant primate and readied herself in a fighting stance. Beast Boy beat his chest and roared out loud. Beast Boy charged at her.

Meanwhile, Raven was already exiting the pool after her impromptu dip. She floated above the water and landed near the edge of the concrete walkway. She shook off some of the water loose from her figure but still remained mostly soaked, much to her annoyance which showed clearly on her face. She turned her head to see Beast Boy in gorilla form wrestling with their female aggressor. She also saw the fallen debris that came from the crane and fell. She focused a telekinetically glowing hand on the debris.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos."

A moderately intact missile fuselage was surrounded in black energy and slowly lifted in the air. It reached a height of about fifteen feet off the ground. Raven swung her hand towards where Lithium and Beast boy were currently entangled. Lithium had her back to the object and couldn't see it coming plus she was also too busy trying free herself from Beast Boy who was grabbing onto her shoulders. Beast boy on the other hand had a clear view and reacted immediately by letting go of Lithium and backing off. Beast Boy then quickly transformed into an eagle and flew straight up with a loud squall.

Lithium was a baffled by this until she looked behind her to see what was going on. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets as she saw the piece of metallic ruble glowing in black energy coming at her. The speeding piece of missile came at her horizontally and left for no room to evade so she did the only thing she could do. She narrowed her eyes and stood her ground. She reared up a fist and held it a ready. As the tube came within striking distance Lithium threw her fist at it.

"Yaaargh!"

The fuselage nearly disintegrated form the middle to both ends. It broke off into multiple fragments, some sprawled on the floor, some fell into and sank in the pool. Lithium stood with an outstretched fist. She calmed down and relaxed her stance by standing straight back up again. She turned around. She side step to evade a bright blue sonic beam that came at her.

Some twenty feet from her, Cyborg had an outstretched cannon arm aimed at her. Standing on either siden of him were Raven and Beast Boy. Lithium stood there calmly staring at them from the distance. She began to smirk and chuckle softly.

"Having fun yet?" inquired Lithium.

"Is this what this is all to you?" retorted Cyborg, "A game?"

"Can it be anything else? Life is nothing but one big game when you think about it. Only those with true skill and determination are the ones who survive leaving the weak behind in their dust. The only victory is when you finally gain what you live for. When you live your purpose"

"What are you saying?" asked Raven, "That those who are weaker than you, you can just trample as you see fit!"

"I don't really want to bother with the lives of other people. They can do whatever the hell they want, I don't give a damn. I'm only after what I'm after, that's all."

"And you don't care if other people get hurt!" inquired Beast Boy.

"I never wanted to hurt other people. I don't have any reason to do so."

"But what about this little project of yours!" said Cyborg, "From what I hear, it's a catastrophe waiting to happen. And you don't seem to care who's in danger here!"

"Tsk! It's always the doomsday scenario with you people. You think everything is out to get you, nothing is safe to you. Always afraid of change."

"That ain't right! We only fear what we know to fear. What your bringing to us could potentially wipe us out. We are Titans. Our job is to ensure the safety and survival of the people. We know what you and your brother must be goin' through here but you have to see that peace and security comes first. If you let us we can send you guys somewhere where you can get some help--"

"Just shut up already!"

Cyborg, along with the other Titans, is taken back by that response.

"I'm getting sick and tired of everyone telling me what my problem is but nobody ever does anything to help me. The only thing people have ever done to me is to order me around. Nobody ever gave a damn about me, about how I feel. I'm so sick of it I can puke. Right now, there's nothing left for me but to look out for myself!"

Lithium quickly drew her knives and stood in a fighting position. The Titans similarly prepared themselves for action.

"I've spent too long a time not knowing my meaning in this world," said Lithium, "I won't wait any longer, and I won't let anybody else get in our way!"

Lithium charged the three Titans.

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Back in the Storage Room.

Robin was swinging his bo staff relentlessly at Arsenic who was blocking and parrying with his combat knife. Arsenic jumped back from one of robin swings and landed ten feet away from the boy wonder. Robin charged at Arsenic. Arsenic countered this by coming to a nearby fallen crate and kicking it like a football into Robin's face. Robin swatted away the wooden crate away with his staff which left him momentarily off-guard. Arsenic took this opportunity to come at Robin and deliver a swift blow to the chest.

"Ooof!"

Robin flew back away from Arsenic's position. From above, Starfire flew into the scene with glowing green eyes. She shot forward an optic blast towards where Arsenic stood. Arsenic dashed to the side avoiding the green beam of light as it trailed him. Arsenic ran up another pile of wooden crates, vaulted off towards where Starfire was floating. Starfire gasped as Arsenic was about to bring a foot down upon her. She was able to block in time with her arms but the impact still forced her back a distance.

"Dah!"

Arsenic landed on top of another pile of crates. He heard a swishing sound coming from the side. He turns to see a bunch of birdarangs headed his way. He readies himself and batted away the projectiles with his combat knife like they were flies. To his side he notices Starfire about to throw a starbolt. Arsenic hopped off the top of the pile just as Starfire let loose her starbolt. The ball of green energy impacted with the wooden crates and turned them into splinters.

Arsenic landed below some few feet away. Robin readily met him with bo staff at ready. Starfire came floating down beside Robin preparing a starbolt in each hand. Arsenic went into a fighting stance. Arsenic was about to charge them when suddenly…

_**Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!**_

Arsenic immediately turned his attention to the watch on his wrist. He carefully looked at what was displayed on the little LCD screen of the thing. The Titans looked on curiously, worriedly. Arsenic looked back up with a slight smirk on his face.

"I'm sorry, looks like our time is up here.." said Arsenic.

"What!" asked Robin, taken aback by the comment.

"I have places to go to at the moment."

"You're not going anywhere until we finish this1"

"I'm really sorry to disappoint you bird boy but I really need to be somewhere else at the moment," said Arsenic as he reached into his belt behind his back, "and frankly, I think you do too."

In slow-motion, Arsenic pulled a flash grenade from his belt which Robin immediately recognized. Thinking quickly, the boy wonder reached into his own belt just as Arsenic released the grenade. Robin pulled out a small black chip from his belt and prepared to toss it just as Arsenic was covering his eyes with his arm. Robin tossed the chip. It flew into Arsenic attaching itself onto one of his boots. The flash grenade exploded and an extremely bright light blinded the Titans momentarily.

By the time Robin and Starfire regained their vision, Arsenic was long gone. The two Titans look at each other curiously, contemplating about Arsenic's actions and exactly what he meant by that last comment.

"Um, Robin," started Starfire, "What did it mean when Arsenic said that we too would prefer to be somewhere else?"

"I think we need to get out of here Star," said Robin.

Just then a quake erupted that shook the floor nearly tipping over Robin where stood. Starfire, who was unaffected because she was floating grabbed Robin to help him regain balance as the quake subsided as quickly as it had come in the first place.

"And we need to do it fast!" continued Robin.

Both Titans dashed towards the exit.

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Back in the Submarine Docks.

The quake was also felt by everyone in the room. The Titans and Lithium stopped fighting and stood still from where the were currently standing. A quick hush falls over the small crowd as they all swung their heads around in curiosity. Lithium looked at her wrist watch.

"Whoa, that late already?" said Lithium, "Looks like my time is up here."

"Hold up!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Yeah, what do your time's up!" asked Beast Boy.

"Our little game is over for now," said Lithium, "I have to be somewhere else at the moment."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Raven.

"Sorry, till next time we meet then," said Lithium as she reached behind her back, "That is if your still alive after tonight."

She threw whatever she had into the ground and covered her eyes with her arm. The object was a flash grenade. The Titans gasped as the grenade exploded blinding them with an intense bright light. They regain their sight a few moments later by when they do, Lithium is nowhere to be seen.

"Dude, she bailed on us!" said Beast Boy.

Another quake rocked the floor they were on. The Titans struggled to maintain balance as the shaking subsided quickly.

"And I think she had good reason," said Raven.

"Yo! We gotta get outta here, now!" exclaimed Cyborg.

They all rushed to the exit.

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Back outside in the hallway.

All five off the Titans simultaneously pop out of their respective exits. They completely startled each other. The get into fighting stances out of panic, Robin holding a fan of birdarangs, Starfire preparing starbolts, Raven with black glowing eyes and hands, Cyborg aiming a sonic cannon, and Beast Boy transformed into a turtle hiding in it's shell shaking in fright.

They took a moment to recognize who was who in the mix-up. Slowly they lowered their armaments and Beast Boy crept his head out of his shell. They all breathed a sigh of relief but only for the moment.

"Dudes, you almost gave me a heart-attack!" exclaimed Beast Boy back in elfin form.

"I could say the same the same to you guys," said Robin.

"Yo, Rob," called Cyborg, "I think we relly need to high-tail outta here! this place isn't gonna last long!"

Another instantaneous quake nearly topples our heroes.

"Point taken, Cyborg," said Robin, "Everyone to the elevator!"

They all dashed to the elevator which they took to come down here in the first place. Beast Boy was the first one there and he automatically went for the call buttons. He pressed furiously but received no response from the device. It would seem that the elevator is malfunctioning. The Titans arrive concluding the same thing.

"Dudes, it ain't working!" Beast Boy announced. "What do we do now?"

"Alright step back y'all!" said Cyborg as he transformed his arm into a sonic cannon.

All the Titans got behind Cyborg as he prepared to fire into the elevator doors. Cyborg let out a powerful sonic blast that hit squarely in the center of the doors. The doors couldn't handle force of the blast and imploded into the elevator shaft.

"Boo-ya!" exclaimed Cyborg in triumph.

They walked up to the dark and empty elevator shaft. They found the elevator car a floor down, the electrical wiring that connected the car to the control system was clearly severed and sparking in the dark. No need to be a genius to guess who did that little piece of handy work. The Titans then looked up. It was a good five or six stories to the surface. It would be a long climb up should they choose to climb.

A rumbling noise came from behind the party of five. The Titans looked behind them. Down the hallway a good distance away, there was a bright and massive fireball roaring it's way towards the teen heroes. The Titans go bug-eyed.

"Titans, up the elevator shaft now!" exclaimed Robin.

Starfire grabbed onto Robin's arm and pulled him along as she zoomed upwards the dark empty shaft. Beast Boy transformed into a crow and soared up the shaft. Raven quickly created a little black energy disk with her powers that Cyborg used to step on and they both flew up the shaft as well. Just as the fire ball was about to reach them.

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Outside.

The Titans stormed out of the warehouse like bats out of hell. The scrambled to get away from the building as fast as possible. And with good reason too. The rumbling and the sudden quake are radiating on the surface.

Suddenly and without warning, the entire warehouse exploded in a gigantic fireball. Pieces of the building flew every which way. Fiery pieces of debris rained down from the sky all over the vast shipyard. The Titans, who by now have reached a safe distance, looked back at the inferno as a lit up the early morning sky.

Underground, the entire subterranean structure that was the villains hideout was collapsing in on itself. The great many unused spaces within began to implode. If one would stand with in the structure it self as it was collapsing one could see the ocean flowing in. As the structural integrity of the facility failed, seawater rushed in from the many cracks and holes that formed on the walls and ceilings.

From the surface of the water, A large plume of water jetted upwards into the sky signaling that the underground structure has indeed caved in on itself. Meanwhile the warehouse on the docks has completely collapsed as well. And there was nothing left but a huge burning pile of rubble.

In the distance atop another warehouse, the Teen Titans stood, staring at the awful sight.

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In the water, a good two miles out in the ocean.

Riya and Sakura look back at the sight of their ruined hideout. They were on a powerboat which was reserved for such an occasion. They continued to stare at the sight with forlorn looks of their own.

Ever since they came to this city almost two months ago to start their operation, that place had been their home. There they got started on their set-up and gathered, as well as acquired all their collective resources there. Now it's nothing but a pile of rubble underneath the ocean.

But that was just fine. That place was never meant for the final set-up. They were now going to where the last pieces of the puzzle would be put into place. They didn't need their old home anymore. It has served its purposes quite sufficiently. Now, it's time for them to find their purpose.

Riya and Sakura turned their sight away and returned to their respective seats; Riya in the driver's seat with Sakura on shotgun. Riya started the motor of the boat once again. The seventeen-hundred horsepower motor revved to life and the vehicle sped off into the vast ocean towards whatever destination.

As he drives, Riya is oblivious to the small black chip stuck on his boot that was transmitting a tracer signal.

------------------------------------------------

In the city.

The Skyline Tower Apartments was too far north of the city for anyone in it to see the ocean. However on this particular day those with apartments facing south could definitely see a large plume of smoke coming from the southern docks.

Many of the tenants have actually gone out into their balconies to see what was going on having been woken up by a loud explosion in the distance and a quake that followed that probably registered a good six points or so on the Richter scale. They were all standing on their balconies, some dressed in bathrobes while other's are in their pajamas, looking at the scene with mixed feelings of curiosity and horror.

However one such tenant did not share such feelings.

Dr. Allen Cannes stood on his personal balcony in a coat and casual wear rather than sleepwear, looking at the scene in the distance. He had an anguished look on his face. Below him, he could hear fire trucks speeding southward towards the blaze.

"Nikolai…" he said, "You cannot be allowed to continue this madness. I'll make sure of that."

He reached into his coat and pulled out a piece of paper.

"If not for this city, then for _their_ sake."

He looked into the piece of paper. It was a photo of a boy and a girl, probably five and four years old respectively, standing besides each other, their features slightly familiar. Dr. Cannes looked deep into the photo for a good long time.

In the distance, The sun began to rise.

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Author's note: Sorry for the long wait. Had to spend most of the holidays with my family and away from computers, oh the horror! Well anyways here's my thirteenth update! Pretty long so it took me quite some time.

Anyways, please R&R! next update might come in sooner if you do!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: STILL don't own the Teen Titans!

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Early morning in the day, around the southern docks.

The sun had reached a moderate height in the morning sky. The land is bathed in a soft amber light giving the atmosphere a most tranquil feeling. Over the ocean and on a few spots near the edges of the docks, seagulls happily go about their business, filling the air with their squawking and squalling. If there was ever a calm before the storm, this was the veritable calm after the storm.

On one particular site in the docks, several fire trucks and even more several firemen were gathered around a very large, smoldering pile of rubble which used to be a warehouse. In the ruble were various shipping containers, or pieces thereof, were bent and twisted out of shape due to the extreme heat. There was plenty of steam coming out of the rubble but all of it is really from the firemen's hoses so there was no longer a fire threat.

All over the place, other firemen and a few dock workers were walking around the general area cleaning up any shrapnel the came from the enormous explosion. Burning shrapnel had caused a few isolated fires here and there but nothing too serious that wasn't dealt with in a good time. This may have been a disaster to most onlookers but with the way things are going the docks will be back in business by the end of the week.

On a farther end of the docks, near the edge of the water, Three Titans gather in a meeting: Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg. They were all standing besides a parked T-car and R-cycle which they used to get there in the first place way earlier in the day. They were having what was basically a round table discussion without the table, their topic being the recent events.

"Okey-dokey, let's recap," started Cyborg, "We find out where our suspected little trio have been hiding out in. We seize the place and find our best two-out-of-three. We get our butts kicked big time by them…again…and they get away. On top of which, judging from that beautiful pile of smoldering ruble over there, we just lost all our leads on this particular case…"

"So…?" asked Robin in an unusually calm tone.

"So…" continued Cyborg, "…What are we gonna do now!"

"Please, friend Cyborg, calm yourself," said Starfire, "Now is not the time to apply an over-exerted breathing towards your cranial region."

The two boys stare at her, sweatdropping.

"Um… Star," said Cyborg, "the expression is: 'blow your top'."

"Oh…my apologies…eh heh…"

"Regardless, she is right, Cyborg," said Robin, "No offence but your starting to sound a lot like me when we were just starting this investigation."

"Guess I'm just getting really frustrated just now, Rob," replied Cyborg, "These guys have been givin' us the run-around since they showed up."

"Yes, I agree," said Starfire, "They have been very troublesome to deal with especially in combat. Though they have unassuming figures they have proven themselves to be quite formidable foes."

"They have, haven't they?" said Robin, "Considering their background, they were trained in the best forms of martial arts and warfare tactics. They don't mess around in their work. Plus there's also that mastermind of theirs, Dr. Volkov. I would bet he is nothing short of genius. There not like most of the villains we've faced before."

"You seem pretty calm about this, Rob," pointed out Cyborg, "What's in you head?"

"Yes, Robin, please tell us your plan," said Starfire.

"If you even have one, dawg."

"Heh, of course I do, Cyborg!" said Robin.

"Well, what is it then?"

"I'd prefer that everyone be here when I say it, We'll just discuss it back at the tower after we're done here. But don't worry, I can say for sure that this plan has a lot more potential than all the other stuff we've tried in the past."

The two Titans aside from Robin seemed doubtful for a second, But soon enough they seem to come to ease. Their leader has been known to have done the would-be-impossible before. Surely he still has what it takes to do it again.

"Now, if only Raven and Beast Boy, could finish up…"

Suddenly, a black portal appeared near where the three Titans were standing. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg, eagerly looked at the black portal, knowing what's to come of it. Surely enough, Raven emerges from the dark gateway and into the material realm. She stood there stoically in front of the three.

"I'm back," said Raven.

"Do you have anything to report, Raven?" inquired Robin,

"I did my best at scanning the place from underground," Raven pulled down her hood, she gave a disheartened sigh, "there was really nothing left down there. I also tried to scan the place using my emphatic senses but it seems the whole facility is empty of living souls…as well as departed ones, thank Azar…"

"Now it would seem we must wait for Beast Boy's case," said Starfire.

"I think I see the little grass stain comin' now," said Cyborg as he looked out towards sea.

The rest of the Titans followed Cyborg's gaze and spotted what seemed to be a green dolphin merrily jumping in and out of the water, heading towards the docks. The green skinned marine mammal jumped out of the water and over the dock. In mid-air, The Beast Boy transformed back into his elfin form and landed safely on to feet. He stood tall and shook of some of the extra moisture on his body, then walked towards his friends who were patiently waiting for him.

"Well, here I am," said the partially soaked changeling.

"What did you see down there, Beast Boy?" inquired Robin.

"Not much to look at down there, dude," said Beast Boy, "I think the explosions caused the whole place to cave in on itself. It's as big a mess down there as it is up here, dude. Rubble was packed so tight I couldn't even squeeze in as an anchovy."

"Then there really is nothing left for us here."

"Except for what ever you got cookin', dawg," said Cyborg, "You gonna fill us in or what?"

"Hold that thought."

Robin reached into his back pocket to retrieve his PDA. He stared into the device intently. The Titans looked at him curiously. Seemingly satisfied, Robin smirked and pocketed away his PDA. He looked back towards his team.

"Look's like we still have a few cards up our sleeves," he said, "we might just be able to pull this off."

"Pull what off?" inquired Beast Boy.

"I'll tell you guys on the way back. We'll discuss this fully once we get back to the tower."

They all nodded to each other in affirmation. Then they all boarded their vehicles, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire in the T-car and Robin in his R-cycle. They quickly left the scene and headed Back towards their home, Titan's Tower.

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In the middle of the ocean.

Riya and Sakura were still in the powerboat they used to escape a little earlier in the day. With their old hideout no just a pile of rubble under the sea they were heading towards their new destination, which they hope will be the final stop in their quest. The last pieces of the puzzle were finally in place.

Understandably, at least one of them was a little impatient.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lithium.

"No," answered Riya.

A few moments of silence.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lithium.

"No," answered Riya.

A few more moments of silence.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lithium.

"No," answered Riya.

Even more moments of silence.

"Are we there yet?" asked Lithium.

"No," answered Riya.

An agonizingly long period of complete silence.

"Are we there y--"

"Dang it sis, if you ask me that one more time--!"

Sakura cringed and sweatdroped.

Riya let out a sigh of exasperation.

"This place is about a couple hundred miles off-shore," said Riya, "You should have known this was gonna be a long boat ride just like the last time,"

"Last time, I was asleep for most of the trip," said Sakura.

"Can't you go to sleep now?"

"After everything that's happened, how could I?"

Riya let out another exasperating sigh.

"Relax, we're almost there," said Riya.

But actually, they were already there.

In the distance of the waves, becoming ever so visible was a structure that seemed to stand still in the ever fluctuating waves. The boat drew closer and the structure came into clearer view. There in the middle of the waves stood a massive Oil rig.

It rose about twenty stories above the waters at its peak. The whole Rig was supported by more than two dozen steel columns that ran all the way to whatever depths that lay below the water. As the boat came within a hundred feet of the structure, the two occupants could see that the rig was in fairly good condition. Still from their point of view, not a soul can be seen or heard from aboard the rig. They seem unaffected by this fact.

The pulled up to an area below the rig's bottom strut to one of the many support columns where there was a small platform just inches above the water's surface. The platform was then used by the two to dock their powerboat on. Once they were in position, Riya and Sakura eagerly came of the boat and tied it down with some rope that was handy on the spot.

The powerboat was now properly docked and the siblings walked the platform to where there was a winding metal staircase attached to the column. They made their way up into the mysterious structure.

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Inside the Oil rig.

In a massive room somewhere in the interior, Dr. Volkov stood in the middle of a make-shift laboratory. Clearly most of the stuff in the room, like several computer terminals and weird looking equipment, was foreign to the rig and they were also disarranged. The most conspicuous of the foreign equipment: a gigantic: a forty foot high cylindrical tube over a dozen feet in diameter. Inside the tube, the large skinless humanoid carcass stayed suspended, revealing nothing through its plain featureless mask of a face.

Dr. Volkov stared at the creature unaffected. His moment of triumph was about to begin and that carcass, however horrific, was the centerpiece of all his work. To him, it was one of the most beautiful sights he has ever beheld. His dear Maria

It had been quite difficult moving her here in the Oil rig along with all the other equipment they needed. But it was necessary. They could not perform the induction process in the underground hideout. Why? They had no power there. The abandoned underground naval facility they were using as their hideout did not have a sufficient power unit to provide the necessary power to run the induction process. The hideout was just basically an underground warehouse and only needed enough electricity to run a small building's worth.

The Oil rig however had a massive power source. In full functionality, the Oil rig would have needed enough power to carry into several very high-powered oil pumps that sucked up fossil fuels several miles underwater, along with the computer systems that ran the whole pumping operations, and all the other various electronics in and around the rig. Put it all together and the rig had enough power to supply five city blocks, and that doesn't even count the backup generators.

It was the ideal location in which to conduct the final induction process he needed to fulfill his dream. Dr. Volkov couldn't help but smile and chuckle sinisterly. Now, all he needed were the last two pieces and the puzzle would be complete.

In fact, here they are now.

Somewhere in the far back of the large room, A pair of double doors open up. From the doors emerged Riya and Sakura. Dr. Volkov slowly turned around with a grin on his face as to greet the two siblings who were walking towards him.

"Welcome, my dear children," said the Doctor. "Your back sooner than I expected."

"Traffic was forgiving," said Riya sarcastically.

"Is the experiment ready?" asked Sakura right away as they reached the center of the room and stopped.

"Oh yes," said Dr. Volkov, "everything is set-up as it should be. Truth be told however, there is still a final _two _remaining pieces that I need."

The siblings said simultaneously. "What?"

"Oh, but don't worry, they are right where I want them to be and are readily available."

"Cool, so where are they?" asked Riya.

"We want to get this show running!" said Sakura

"But first of all," the Doctor grinned, "I want to express my deepest appreciations to you two."

The siblings are visibly less comfortable from where they stand. Something was wrong with this picture though they can't say for sure yet.

"God knows I would be nowhere without you, my dears," Dr. Volkov continued, "I truly cannot express the value of your work. That only makes this decision of mine a much harsher one."

"What do you mean, Doctor?" asked Sakura.

"What decision?" inquired Riya.

"I realize how much importance you two hold in the resurrection of your 'mother' but unfortunately for the all of us we cannot reap the same benefits from this project since we all have our different objective, you see. Conflict will only bring about more undesired setbacks so you can understand that only one of us can achieve their goal."

"What conflict?" asked an uneasy Sakura, "Isn't it the point of this whole operation to bring _her_ back! We all want that, don't we? Why would there be a conflict!"

Riya was equally uneasy as his hand slowly inched its way to his gun holster. Volkov in the meantime was placing his arms behind his back in a casual manner.

"Sakura, my child," continued the Doctor, "Exactly what were you planning to do with _Maria_ after she is returned to this world? Do you expect her to shower you with hugs and kisses? Tell you a bedtime story? Be a family?"

"She…she is our mother. She will give us our purpose. Her will is ours to follow…"

"A misguided dream child. She is your mother only by blood, not by soul. You share nothing of her because like everyone else you are _imperfect_."

Sakura was taken aback by this comment. Riya grew even more uncomfortable. He wasn't liking the way this conversation was playing out. He had to do something.

"Your purposes are meaningless to her. She is above you in every sense. She need not waste her time on you. She has better things to do."

"Like what, Doctor?" inquired Riya, his tone aggressively interrogating.

Away from Riya's sight, Dr. Volkov reached into a back pocket to retrieve a small device that had a single red button. The doctor's thumb rested on the solitary button.

"It has always been her destiny to rule over this pathetic little world. She posses immense power that none but _me_ can fathom."

"You!" interrupted Riya, "What makes you so special, Volkov! Last time I checked, your no divine anything in anyone's book! What makes you think you know our mother!"

"I found her twenty-four years ago frozen in her grave! I discovered her genome structure! I was the most responsible for Project: Maria! I know her most and I know that she has the power to rule this world and because of that I deserve most to stand by her side when she does!"

"You don't deserve shit!" Riya cursed, something he very rarely did.

He drew his .45 handgun in a flash and aimed in Volkov's direction. A red dot appeared on Dr. Volkov's forehead. The Doctor, and even Sakura, visibly cringed.

"Your just like the rest of them. You think she is some kind of weapon you can just use to do whatever you want! We're nothing but tools to you bastards! Well I've had it with people trying to use us! That's why I'm taking you out of this little operation, Doc!"

"What!"

"You have a choice," Riya said coldly, "Either you walk out right now and keep your head, or I retire you personally."

The Doctor's face twisted into a sinister grin as if Riya's intimidating threat had no affect on him whatsoever. Dr. Volkov then began to chuckle in a maddening tone.

"Haha…hahaha…HAHAHA!"

Riya and Sakura were now very uneasy and actually began to back off. Riya kept his aim as Sakura gripped her two combat knives. This whole ordeal was very wrong.

"What makes you think you have any say in this operation, my boy!" said Dr. Volkov, "It was I who has been running this entire operation from the start! You command nothing, my boy, and if I were you I would stand down immediately."

"Not gonna happen old man!"

"Hehehe…I'm disappointed to hear that. Sad that we've had to come to such an end, you and I. But it is the way of a genius to continue what he has started no matter what."

Behind his back, Dr, Volkov pressed the red button on the small device. Then and there the tables have turned.

From out of the floor behind Riya and Sakura, a tall metal rod with a giant dome at the top sprang up to a height of fifteen feet. The two were momentarily distracted by this. In front of them to their sides, two more metal rods sprang up from the floor. In a bird's eye view it appeared that the three tall rods were three points of a triangle that enclosed on the two siblings. They began to buzz loudly. Both Riya and Sakura gasped in fright as they immediately knew what these things were.

Tesla coils.

It was a trap. Riya did his best to re-aim his custom .45 at Volkov but it was too late. From the three tall coils came bolts of electricity that instantly jumped at the two siblings in the center of the triangle.

Both screamed in agony. "AAAARGH!"

Both teens fell to their knees and hands as bolts of high voltage electricity coursed through their bodies. The pain they were feeling must have been immense yet they kept consciousness somehow. The coils continued to supply their charge as Dr. Volkov chuckled at the scene.

"You two may be a lot tougher than ordinary humans but soon enough you too shall succumb to pain," said Dr. Volkov, "Once I have you are out of it I can finally start the induction process."

"WHAT…THE HELL!" Riya screamed in agony.

"Oh , I should probably mention to you that _you two_ are the keepers of the last two pieces of the genome."

"WHAT!"

"When Cannes and I were still in good terms we split a sample of your mother's genome into four separate segments. Cannes decided to hide the first two segments in special protein solutions. I decided to hide mine in your bodies. Now all I need left is for you two to cooperate with me one last time, just long enough for me to extract a fair amount of the genome inside of you."

"YOU…SICK BASTARD--!" screamed out Sakura in pain.

It's pointless to resist, child."

It eventually happened. Sakura's body couldn't take the pain and she fell completely out of consciousness and onto the floor. Riya on the other hand held on for a while more. With his strength sapping away and only sheer anger driving him on, Riya summoned his last ounce of strength to lift his handgun from the floor and aim at Dr. Volkov. Sadly enough he could not muster enough will to pull the trigger until unconsciousness finally claimed him.

The Tesla coils shut down and the room turned quiet for a moment. Dr. Volkov's sadistic chuckling broke the silence. He turned away from the sleeping teens to look once again at the horrifying carcass in the large glass tube, its empty eyes staring, unaffected from all that just happened.

"Soon my dear you will be whole again," said Dr. Volkov, "The process will soon begin and at the end of your _requiem _all the world shall be know your wrath as my own! Hahaha…HAHAHAHAHA!"

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Titan's Tower.

The team had just settled in after the post-investigation of the disaster scene from the southern docks and was having a makeshift breakfast around their usual places in the main room. Beast Boy was having a soy-dog on a bun that he kept in his personal stash at the back of the fridge, Cyborg was chomping on a quick fix of milk and cereal, Raven was sipping a cup of herbal tea, and Starfire… was sipping a bottle of mustard through a drinking straw.

Robin was at the computer terminal typing, satisfying his hunger with partially eaten power bar he had clamped in his jaw. He took a moment to free one of his hands and take the power bar from his jaw so he can eat it properly. He took a big bite, chewed, swallowed, and clamped the rest of the bar back onto his mouth as his other hand went back to typing.

"Yo dawg!" called out Cyborg in-between spoonfuls of cereal, "You gonna tell us what you got cookin' or what?"

"Hoohh ohh ah minnh," said Robin, power bar still in his mouth like a cigar.

"…What?"

Robin freed a hand again to take the power bar out of his mouth. "I said hold on a minute."

Robin used his remaining hand on the keyboard to make a couple of final keystrokes. Immediately on the screen flashed a digital map of the west coast. It zoomed in on a particular corner of the coast right where Jump City should be. However the map centered on the middle of the ocean, the coast occupying about one-third of the space to the right of the screen. In the middle of the ocean was a little beeping dot.

The Titans stared at the display, intrigued, amazed, and totally wondering what in God's name does it even mean. Robin wasn't sharing the team's expression since he knows what it is.

"Ooooookay…" droned Beast Boy, "…what are we seeing here?"

"I knew from the start that there was a good chance that those two would be bailing on us the first chance they got," said Robin, "Arsenic and Lithium seem to prefer playing it smart and avoid any conflict with us, or anyone else for that matter, if they can help it. That whole debacle in their old hideout was a distraction all along, I wasn't surprised the left like they did. So I made sure we would be able to follow them."

Raven lifted her head from her teacup. "So is that what I think it is?"

"Yup. I managed to pin a tracer on Arsenic before he ran out on us. It's been sending a steady signal for a while now but for some reason has stopped transmitting a few minutes ago."

Starfire lifted her head from her 'beverage'. "Dou you suspect that they have discovered it, Robin?"

"Now way of telling, Starfire. But the for the last half-hour or so, the tracer has been on this particular spot since they stopped moving," said Robin pointing at the blinking dot on the screen, "About two hundred miles off-shore. It would seem there is nothing there at first but there is actually an old Oil rig there that's been abandoned for a half a year now."

"Man why does it always those creepy abandoned places," said Beast Boy, "With all the stuff they steal, you'd think super villains can afford some rent!"

They probably think it's the best place to finish their operation, Beast Boy. The place may be abandoned at the moment but most of its facilities are in working conditions including the power systems at that rig."

"You think they went there for the power supply, dawg?" asked Cyborg.

"That rig has over twenty times the powering capabilities of their last hideout. They probably need that much power to even attempt the induction process we've been hearing about so much."

"Then it would seem that they are beginning their final preparations for this said process," pointed out Starfire, " we must make haste in stopping them!"

"Agreed, Starfire, we must. So we make plans to leave immediately, We'll take the T-ship to get to this location plus we might need the extra firepower. Titans, lets move."

The team hurriedly finished what substitute they had for a breakfast meal. They began to move towards the exit so as they can make their way down to the Tower's own underground docking bay where the Titans' precious T-ship resided. They were near the door when Raven decided to speak up.

"Wait," said Raven.

The rest of the team stopped in their tracks to pay the dark girl their attention.

"Can we really pull this off?"

The rest of the team raise their eyebrows in question.

"Uh…what are ya' saying, Rae?" inquired Beast Boy.

"Not that I want to admit it, but Arsenic and Lithium have proven themselves quite ferocious foes. They have been making it their career to kick our butts at every turn. I'm just saying that fact worries me."

"C'mon Rae, we've beaten them before, haven't we?"

"That's only because we got lucky at the time."

"…"

"All I'm saying is: can we really feel confident that we can beat those two? And what of their mother, this…'Maria'? Should she come to exist, will we be able to take her on as well?"

The room fell silent. If there is one thing Raven is good at, it's being as brutally honest as she possibly can. Though as much as the Titans don't want to hear it, they need to anyway. And she did have a good point.

"…Well…we'll just have to wing it out as best we can," said Robin.

Now everyone else turned their attention to the boy wonder.

"Robin I don't think your getting my point," said Raven, "Everything we've seen so far shows that we have a low chance of beating them."

"And has that ever stopped us before?"

"..."

"Guys, we've faced almost everything in and out of the book. Whether it was giant monsters, evil geniuses, heck even a demon god. Every time the odds always seem to overwhelm us. But have we ever really backed down?"

The room lightened up a bit.

"No, we never backed down. We've done the impossible time and time again. Why? Because we are the Teen Titans. No matter the outlook we still charge head-on into the fray of things. We save lives, protect the peace, uphold justice, and bring down anyone who says otherwise. That's why I'm still going on this mission despite the risk. Even if I have to rely on luck alone, so be it."

The room's mood seemed indifferent. Beast Boy broke a considerably long silence.

"Dude, that has got to be…the corniest thing I've ever heard!"

"So you agree?"

"…Heck, yeah!"

"I can't argue with that dawg!" agreed Cyborg.

"Yes, what wonderful points you have bestowed, dear Robin!" exclaimed Starfire.

"Hmm… I guess your right again boy-o-wonder," sarcastically remarked Raven.

"Then we are all agreed then?" asked Robin to his team.

They all nodded in affirmation.

"In that case…TITANS, GO!"

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At the Oil rig.

The once tense atmosphere has died down. Riya and Sakura were truly in no position to argue anything at this point. Their exact position however involved them shackled by their arms and legs crucifix-style on raised metal beds raised in a vertical manner. They were still unconscious. In-between the vertically hanging siblings, there was the giant tube that held their mother's carcass.

One would look at the sight and may say it was a sort of sadistic family portrait of sorts.

Bellow on the floor, Dr. Volkov was busy moving about the room, keeping himself busy by making the preparations for the event that was about to take place. He would move from one computer terminal to another, typing whatever commands he was using.

Every once and a while, the Doctor would glance at the unconscious sibling, hanging by chains. And every time he did so, he would grin sadistically as if taking a little pride in his work before moving on.

Meanwhile, several feet above the floor, Riya and Sakura peacefully slept. As they did, they did the same thing they always do when they are in such peaceful slumber.

They dreamt of days long past.

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Author's note: Writer's block is a really ugly thing to happen to you! That and too much schoolwork piled into one night. A little more time than I expected, but I've finished my…let's see one…two… nine…fourteenth installment! As usual, please R&R!


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so don't even ask!

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In a remote location, somewhere in Europe, sometime in the past.

The sky is dark, gray, and depressing. Clouds of ebony carpet the sky overhead as a steady pouring rain sprinkles a gentle shower upon a truly desolate sight. On ground level, there is nothing but burnt ruble as far as the eye could see. Pieces of twisted infrastructure of some foregone facility lay wasted. Closer examination could see that whatever catastrophe that beheld this place happened a long time ago. Nothing would, could, call this place home.

The official story is that this place used to be a motor factory that was targeted for bombing by a rebel faction. The tragedy resulted in loss of many lives as well as tens of millions in property damage. But like it is said. That's just the _official_ story. Only a few truly know the truth and fewer among those that do would be willing to reveal it.

But that is beside the point for the time being.

Two figures, a taller and a shorter, emerge from atop a hill overlooking the field of dismay. Both of them are wearing large, baggy, hooded over-coats that covered them from head to toe, laden with pockets and belt straps. They stare at the depressing sight for quite a long moment.

"There really is nothing left," said the shorter in a young girl's voice.

"After all that has happened, you can't expect anything more than this," said the taller in a young boy's voice.

"I wanna have a closer look."

"Let's go then."

The two moved down the hill in a leisurely pace not in a hurry. They crossed over a gap in a ruined and broken down chain link fence. The ground in which they walked on was completely desolate, without even weeds. Their boots sloshed with every step they took on the rain drenched soil. They continued forward for a while.

They passed a broken down building. Its roof, completely caved in and strewn about in the interior. Its walls barely standing, with cracks littering the visible sides of the structure. Windows are reduced to simple rectangular holes and the entrance had a single rusty door hinging by its last hinge. One would think a bomb was dropped right on top of the building. Uninterested, the two figures moved on.

As they walked, the two passed more buildings similar to the last; battered and ruined, mere shells of their former stature. The two seem hardly affected by all this as if they were expecting to see such a debacle. They approached what would be the center of the entire facility. What they saw would unnerve most men.

A huge crated over a eighty feet deep and at least four hundred feet across lay before the two. Inside the crater were mangled pieces of metal and concrete. A clear sign of a past catastrophe that leveled what ever structure that was built on this foundation. The two stared at the site.

"Now…there really is nothing left…" said the shorter.

"No, there isn't…" concurred the taller.

Slowly, the shorter of the two slowly lifted her hands towards her hooded head. She pulled back her hood to reveal her features. A delicate face filled with youthful beauty, short, neck-length chestnut hair, an ocean blue colored left eye and a leafy green colored right eye.

She stared into the crater with a saddened expression on her face. All the while, her taller companion was looking at her. Eventually, he also brought his hands to his hood and pulled it back. Shown were his youthful, boyishly handsome face and his long platinum hair tied in a ponytail, his eyes are the same as the girl's.

His face however showed concern towards the girl. He lifted one hand and placed it on her shoulder as if to comfort her.

"Hey," he softly called out, "you okay, sis?"

The girl turned her sight towards the boy but neglects to respond to him for a good long moment. She couldn't answer because she honestly did not know what the answer should be. It seemed as though the boy sensed that and did not push the question.

The girls looked back down but instead of the crater she lifted her hands up to look at them. She carefully examined them in some strange fascination.

"This body of mine feels so strange," she said, "I feel like it's not mine at all…"

" Don't worry, that's completely natural," said the boy as he looked at one of his own palms, "Remember that we were asleep in a cryo hibernation stasis for three years. We weren't exactly frozen as you thought, just in a state of very deep sleep. Our bodies aged a bit even in that state but our minds didn't. Physically, I'm about seventeen and a half years old and you're just over sixteen. But in truth, our minds are about a couple of years behind those numbers."

"I know about that. Our minds our trying to catch up to what our bodies have done while we slept."

"It's a bit uncomfortable, I know, but it will pass soon enough."

"It doesn't matter to me. Nothing matters to me anymore…"

"…sis?"

The boy looked back at his sister just in time to see a single tear run down her smooth cheek. His look of concern quickly returned.

"Sis, what's wrong?" he asked.

"…_she's_ gone."

"…"

"She's gone for good, and we'll never get to see her again…"

She turned away from her brother and stayed silent for a while.

"No," she heard him say.

She slowly turned her head back at him in a silent inquiry. "…?"

"You didn't want to hang out long enough for _him_ to explain his proposal."

"…neither did you."

"At first yeah, but I decided to lend him an ear at least, despite the fact that he is a little quack."

"He's completely insane, that guy."

"True, but he did have a very interesting proposal for us."

"What's that exactly?"

"…He thinks he could bring _her_ back."

"…!"

"The segments of the genome are still intact, just hidden away. He knows how to do the induction process that was developed specifically for this project. As genius as he is, he cannot do all of it by himself. He needs help. _Our_ help. He wants us to help him find the missing pieces of the genome so that we can bring her back."

"And you actually believe him?"

"Is there anyone else to believe anymore?"

"…"

"I'm tired of waiting, sis. I'm tired of waiting for something that was never coming in the first place. They promised us we'd see her again but they lied and used us. Just like how everybody lied and used us. This is our only opportunity left for us to take. The only opportunity for us to regain control of our lives again. I know I want that. How about you?"

"…I want that too."

"I thought so."

"It's a big risk though. How do we know this guy isn't like all the rest?"

The boy didn't respond immediately. He turned his head to survey more of the scene in front of them. As far as his eyes could see there was nothing but ruble and wreckage.

"Remember what the other old man told us?" said the boy, "Science is synonymous with taking risk, it's up to us to decide whether we take them or not…"

"…oh yeah, _him._ Whatever happened to him anyway?"

"Don't know."

"…Out of all the people we know, he seemed the only one who actually gave a damn about us. I felt like he's the only one who was not interested in just using us to do whatever they wanted."

"Yeah, he was the only one like that. And I liked him a lot… But in the end, he abandoned us to this…"

"…?"

"He left us all alone because he was scared. Now we have nothing left except this one last piece of hope for ourselves."

The girl did not respond immediately. She looked up towards the gray sky, feeling the soft raindrops on her face. She seemed to ponder something.

"Can you call what we have 'hope'?" asked the girl.

"What else is there left for us but this?" answered the boy, "We struggled too long and too hard. How can we pass up an opportunity like this? While I do have doubts about this deal, what other choice is there left for the likes of us?"

"None…"

"Yes…"

"…let's take it then."

"You've decided?"

"I'm also pretty tired of not knowing what the hell I was made for, why I exist. I wanna know. Other than that…I don't want to feel alone anymore, I don't want to feel like it's just the two of us anymore."

"…"

"Let's take this deal."

"…Okay, let's go then…"

The two looked at each other, nodded their heads, and walked off together back in the direction they came from. They soon left the grounds of the wrecked facility. Not once in their stride did they look back at the depressing sight. As they disappeared into the far away hills, the rain kept its steady pour, washing over the long forgotten past.

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Back at the present, at fifty feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

"I said: Titans, do you read?" said Robin's voice over the radio.

"Affirmative!" came an assorted number of voices in response.

"Okay then. Cyborg, hows it looking on your scans?"

"So far, so good, dawg," responded Cyborg's electronic voice, "No detection of anything that could attack us from where we are now."

"Alright. Raven, how about you?"

"We're in the clear so far," said Raven's voice, "We haven't been detected by any form of radar or sonar detectors, and I doubt there are any in the first place.

"Look's like they weren't expecting a party," said Beast Boy's voice.

"You're right, Beast Boy," said Robin's voice again, "They were gone in such a hurry they are probably expecting us to be eating their dust right now."

"Friends, though I do find dining on collective microscopic debris to be unappetizing," said Starfire's voice "Does this mean to be a good thing for us?"

"Yes, Starfire, it means we now have an element of surprise."

"They'll never see us comin'!" said Beast Boy.

"Splendid!" exclaimed Starfire.

"Woah! Heads up, y'all," said Cyborg, "Looks like were comin' up on them already!"

"What is the distance?"

"Five miles and closing!"

"Alright, time to get this show on the road!" said Robin's voice, "Titans, prepare to surface!"

The rest of the team responded simultaneously. "Roger!"

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Above the surface of the water.

The sky was dark with rain clouds. The sun dared not to show its light on this day. Te the clouds blanket the sky, not a single drop of rain has yet to fall. An ominous sign some might say about the mid-day darkness. But at the moment, enthusiasm is high among five famous heroes.

The waves parted suddenly as a massive machine broke out of the water's surface. A sleek orange craft, shaped like a manta ray, with five individual cockpit bubbles steadily rises above the ocean to an altitude of about twenty feet from sea-level. It's glossy finish shining even in the lack of sunlight.

The T-Sub.

The Titan's new and improve version not only served as a deep water submarine but also as a deep space craft. They should really rename it to the T- Ship or something. But at the moment it served to bring the Titans ever closer to their current goal.

Up ahead in the distance, an image of tall structure resting in the middle of the ocean became ever so apparent as the Titans drew nearer. The Oil rig became completely visible within a few moments. The T-Sub kicked into full gear and zoomed upwards of two hundred miles per hour over the glistening surface of the water creating a large wake behind it.

"Cyborg, what do you see on X-ray scope?" called out Robin over the radio.

"There, I see them!" exclaimed Cyborg's voice, "It looks like they are somewhere on the top floor!"

"How do we enter the facility, Robin?"

"Seeing as we are in a hurry, I don't think there is a need to be discreet. Right guys?"

"Oh, brother..." monotonously remarked Raven's voice.

"Okay then, no objections, I guess. Let's go, Titans! Brace yourselves!"

"Yeah, Dude! Rock n' Roll!" excitedly exclaimed Beast Boy.

The T-Sub's twin boosters, located on either side of the ship, gave a mighty burst of thrust that nearly doubled the speed of the ship. The T-Sub came within three hundred meters of the Oil rig, which seemed to loom over the comparatively tiny ship. Then at three hundred miles per hour, the T-Sub crashed into the outer walls.

------------------------------------------------

Inside the Oil rig.

_**CRASH!**_

Dr. Volkov was busily making preparations on one of his computer terminals when a large crashing sound, accompanied by a very large quake, distracted him and forces him to go down on one knee. All around him, random pieces of equipment that wasn't bolted down started to roll of their respective perches and fall to the floor.

Amidst the chaos, the hanging figures of Riya and Sakura barely stirred. Their deep slumber going on undisturbed.

The chaos eventually subsided and Dr. Volkov was able to find his footing on still grounds once again. He stared into the empty space of the room with an expression of some form of shock with curiosity on his face.

"What in God's name…!"

Though inside, he already knew the answer.

------------------------------------------------

On the lower levels of the Oil rig.

A thick cloud of dust covered the room. One side of the wall has completely caved in. Inside the hollow space, probably some kind of factory floor, the T-Sub simmered down as the engines slowly turned off. Nearly all of the ship has managed to enter the space despite its size.

A few moments of silence.

The multiple cockpits opened up loud mechanical hisses. Al five of the Teen Titans exited their downed craft and jumped onto the floor they were on. They struck ready poses and surveyed the immediate area for signs of trouble. Luckily, they found none at the moment.

"How do we proceed now?" asked Starfire.

"Do we even know where we're goin', dudes? asked Beast Boy.

"I know where…" said Raven

Everyone turned their attention to her, looking curiously. Raven was seemingly staring into deep space. A collective number of eyebrows were raised.

"Um, you getting' anythin', Rae?" inquires Cyborg.

"Yes, I feel…their pain."

The Titans went wide-eyed.

"Arsenic and Lithium, I feel their auras so clearly. They're in deep hurting. Something is wrong…"

"Alright, new plan," said Robin, "Everyone take caution. Got it?"

Everyone else affirms the command.

"Let's move out!"

The Titans rushed forward with Raven in the lead. She is now able to sense freely the auras of Arsenic and Lithium yet again. But that was the strange part. Up until now, those two had managed to elude her emphatic senses when they first found out how Raven was using her powers to detect them. But now that mental guard they possessed has disappeared. What could've caused that? She didn't know for sure but it could only mean that something terrible happened to those two, and that entailed more trouble for the Titans in the long run.

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In the main room.

Dr Volkov has managed to finish all of his preparations along with diagnostic check-ups and the like. All was ready and the last step was to pull the switch and everything would begin instantly. The switch in question was in the Doctor's hand in the form of a small remote control device, his thumb resting on a particular button.

But for some reason he hesitated. His greatest moment of glory a single button press away, yet he does not immediately proceed. Instead he was just standing there grinning at the direction of the only entrance/exit of the large room. How come?"

Someone decided to address the question.

"What…the hell are…you waiting for?"

Dr. Volkov seemed a little surprised at the sudden inquiry. He turned his head to look back. He saw that Riya has finally awakened, although looking pretty worn out. On the opposite side Sakura was groggily stirring into consciousness. Volkov merely grinned at the two.

"Ah, I see you've awaken," said Dr. Vilkov, "I'm glad. I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss this."

"Answer his question… old man!" demanded Sakura.

"Where about to witness my greatest achievement not to mention the biggest turning point in the history of mankind," answered Volkov, "It is only fitting that there be a proper audience. Fortunately, your old acquaintances have arrived just in time, my dears.

"Acquaintances…?"

"You mean… the Titans?" inquired Riya.

"Yes, my boy. Wouldn't you say it's best that they see the two of you in your greatest moment?"

"What the hell…are you talking about?"

"This is your greatest moment, my dears. All this time you two have been preaching to the Titans how everything you did was for the sake of achieving your true purpose in life and now that prophecy of yours is a about to come true. You will finally fulfill your purpose in life. To bring _her_ back from the depths. Fitting that your greatest adversaries to date would bear witness to it."

_**BANG!**_

On the far side of the room, the double doors exploded from their hinges inwards. In the door way stood five very familiar teens. Who made their way inside the room quickly enough but kept a considerable distance away from the three main occupants.

Volkov turned around slowly to look at the party of five. He had a sinister grin on his face, unnerving anyone who saw it.

"And speaking of which…" said the Doctor.

The Titans prepared themselves in ready poses. Robin taking the helm, as usual, with Beast Boy and Cyborg just behind him on either side, and the girls floating above.

"Welcome, Teen Titans to my humble abode in the sea."

"Save it old man," said Robin right off the bat, "I'm taking it that you're the real mastermind behind all this. Well we're here to stop you cold in your tracks!"

"Oh, now there is no need to be rude Mr. Robin. We are all refined gentlemen here, please do not deny me a proper introduction. I am Dr. Nikolai Volkov, Head supervisor and Lead project designer for Project: Maria."

Dr. Volkov posed as if presenting the tall glass cylinder behind him like it was a valuable piece of art. The Titans took one look at it and their faces twisted in disgust and horror. The had never scene such an awful and horrible sight since Starfire was going through her metamorphosis.

"How do you like her?" asked the Doctor, "Is she not the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

"Is _that_ what all this fuss is about!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Dude, that is way nasty!" said Beast Boy.

"…She has a certain appeal…" monotonously said Raven.

"I do not believe so," said Starfire.

"It is a wonderful coincidence that all of you are here to witness this great moment in history," said Volkov, "You should consider yourselves extremely lucky to bear such witness."

"You mean bear witness to the destruction of mankind!" exclaimed Robin.

"You are such an alarmist! Can't you see the true potential of Maria in this world. It is her destiny to reign a certain amount of destruction. But don't worry my boy, she will be mine to control."

"What!"

"I've designed her body in such a way that only I am able to give her commands and that she cannot act on her own will. I will wield her power like a sword that will be my domination over mankind. This is the way things should be!"

"Your insane."

"Is that so? Humankind has come to be too uncontrollable in today's modern times. The overpopulate this globe causing great imbalance in the natural order of things. The spread too fast and consume too much that they are slowly destroying their own home world. That is where dear Maria comes in. She is the key to bring back the balance in the natural order. She will keep this order and save this world. Her hand shall sweep this world clean of its infidelity. And I will make sure I am the one controlling that hand. It is only right for me to do this. I just want to restore this world to its proper glory."

"By destroying innocent human lives! That is unacceptable! We stop this charade right now!"

The Titans charge in headlong towards Dr. Volkov's position. Volkov merely grins and reaches into his back pocket. He retrieved the remote control from earlier and lay a finger on a particular button. From behind him, Riya noticed the move and knew immediately what was about to happen.

"No! Stay back!" he shouted out to the Titans.

The Titans heard but only a bit too late. They tried to stop in their tracks to head Riya's warning but were already in the position that Volkov wanted them to be in. Volkov raised his hand that held the remote and pressed the button.

From the floor three tall Tesla coils that formed a triangle around the Titans. The Titans were caught by surprise and simply stood in their place not wanting to risk a booby trap. They could hear the steady humming of the three tall metal coils and they knew that a wrong move would likely ended up with them having a thousand volts of electricity shoot through their bodies. Needless to say that's not good.

Volkov was still standing in his place, chuckling madly at the predicament of the Titans. Kids are just too easy to fool, he thought. Again he gained the upper hand thanks to his genius.

"I suggest you stay still," warned Dr. Volkov, " any movement from you and you are all 'fried', as they say in your country."

"Darn you, old man!" exclaimed Robin to no avail.

"No need for profanities, my boy. It is best that you just sit back and enjoy the show…"

Volkov turned around and away from the Titans. He was now facing the giant glass cylinder. He aimed his remote control and pressed a button on it for the final time.

Suddenly the whole room came alive. What ever equipment not turned on before, finally hummed into life. The whole room began to light up like a New Year's Day celebration. Suddenly, machines everywhere started moving about. Next to the hanging and bound figures of Riya and Sakura, two long, multi-jointed, mechanical arms dropped from the ceiling. On each arm was a syringe. The two arms came close to the two teens respective necklines as Riya and Sakura looked on nervously. Then suddenly, the two syringe jabbed into a vein on each neck of the two teens.

"Aargh! "Aahh!"

The syringes drew a generous amount of blood from the veins of the two hanging teens and gathered them in small glass cylinders. After gathering their fill, the two mechanical arms pulled away and dropped even lower to the floor where on a table there were two veils of eerie purple liquid, both labeled 'M' on the side. The two mechanical arms ejected the cylinders filled with fresh blood next two the two cylinders with the familiar purple liquid. Their task done, the mechanical arms retract back to the ceiling.

Volkov calmly walks toward the four cylinders on the table. Riya, Sakura, and the Titans can do nothing but nervously watch.

"let me explain something to you all," said Dr. Volkov while picking up the cylinders of glass, "I'm pretty sure that you know that this is the special induction process that I am about to perform. But I bet your wondering what is the purpose of it. Am I right?"

Volkov walks to a nearby device that had a rack on top of it that seem specifically designed to fit the four veils he was carrying with him. He carefully placed the four veils into their respective racks. The device automatically sucked the contents into its internal mechanism.

"What you see before you is not the real Maria," continued Dr. Volkov, "It is only a protein base, lifeless and with no true potential on it's own. It was designed to be the base in which Maria would be created as. You see, Maria has no true figure any longer and no-one truly knows or could even conceive what her true figure would be like. So we…well actually, I decided to make her in our image."

He walked away from the device and went to another table on the side. On the table was another veil of semi-clear pinkish fluid which was labeled in clear black and white: CATALYST 719. Volkov walked back to the previous machine.

"The only way to bring her back," he continued, "was to clone her. We never recovered her true body but we were able to secure her genome structure. To further secure the genome, we split it into four pieces. Two were hidden in the veils that we stole from my old comrade, Cannes. And the other two I hid in the blood of these two children."

The Titans seemed a bit surprised after hearing that news. They now understand the reason for the extraction of blood from the two teens, so that the blood can be coupled with the samples from the other two veils.

Volkov reached the previous device and place the glass veil of pinkish liquid in a separate compartment. Again the machine sucked it up.

"What I just added to the mix was a special catalyst chemical that I need to really get the process going. Due to the rigid nature of Maria's genome we need to induce he DNA by force if we ever want a finished product. Right about now this machine is building up the genetic sequence in is about to pump it into this chamber with her protein base."

Tubes connecting the device to the giant glass cylinder. Started to shake a bit. Inside the cylinder, The liquid surrounding the hollow carcass started to turn a bright blood red color. Riya, Sakura, and the Titans watched in horror.

"Now just one final step," said Volkov.

Dr. Volkov move to another device on a wheeled platform, one the Titans and two hanging teens could easily recognize. It was the core emitter stolen from the Garland Tech Center. A closer inspection would reveal that it has been fitted with the special lens Riya and Sakura stole from Prof. Chang.

Volkov moved the device into place fairly easily. He positioned it in such a way that it was aiming at a particular lens that was attached to the base of the giant glass cylinder. He turned on the device. A bright laser beam of extreme high frequency electrons blasted from the device straight into the opposing lens attached to the base of the cylinder. Inside, the blood red liquid began to glow eerily.

"This final step induces the energy needed to complete the induction," continued Volkov, "Coupled with the special properties of the catalyst chemical, the wave of electrons will induce the genome structure into the protein base thus giving Maria anew body to inhabit."

Inside the glowing red liquid, the carcass began to change. Muscles began to fill in. Organs began to complete in form. A dark gray skin began to wrap around the carcass of the creature. The eyeholes of the giant plaster mask began to glow an eerie, ominous, red glow.

All around the room, equipment started to go crazy. Computer terminals sparked and some even exploded. Wires everywhere was shorting out. The whole floor began to quake. The Titans could barely keep their footing from where they stood.

Meanwhile, Riya and Sakura were still hanging and bound, though not for much longer. A malfunctioning control circuit must've shorted out causing the locks that bound the two to release. Both teens fell to the ground in a heap opposite of one another.

"Oof!" "Dah!"

Volkov was staring fixatedly at his 'creation'. Though that was hard to conceive since at that moment, the glass cylinder has become excessively foggy for some reason rendering its contents invisible. Still he did not move from his place.

Eventually, the ceiling came crashing down. Riya and Sakura saw this and quickly covered their heads as they are showered with debris. On the Titans' side, Raven thought fast and created a black dome around herself and her teammates for protection. As the ceiling came crashing down, the place filled up with so much dust that it was impossible to see anything at all.

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The chaos eventually subsided.

A few moments of silence went by where none moved.

After a while, Riya's figure popped out as he pushed off the debris from his back. He stood and did a quick survey of the scene around him. It seemed as though the entire top floor of the Oil rig's quarters had collapsed in on itself. As a result, Riya found himself standing outdoors under a dark sky filled with rain clouds.

A moment later, Sakura's figure emerged from the ruble. She was panting heavily and coughed a bit from the dust. Following her. The Titans emerged from the ruble, still in Raven's protective shield. Raven released the shield and the Titans felt the see breeze once again.

Nobody moved for a long time, until...

"She lives!"

All seven teens turned their attention to the source of that out burst. They found Dr. Volkov, still standing in his place, somehow unscathed.

"See her now!" Volkov exclaimed, "See her for what she is! Perfection!"

The seven teens noticed he was looking at something skyward. They all followed his line of sight. And indeed, they did see what they could not even begin to behold.

Floating above the ruined structure was_ her_.

A gigantic creature over forty feet in height. It's figure was that of a human female though her body was completely featureless in terms of the bodily signatures one would expect to find on a female body. Instead, her skin was not really skin, but an insect-like shell that segmented where her joints would be. The color of the shell was a dark bluish green that varied in brightness throughout her body. Her hands were clawed and her feet resembled that of a insects feet, with two claws instead of toes. Her long wire-like hair reached all the way down her back. On her back were six large Dragonfly wings that seemed to mildly glow with energy. Her face was the featureless white mask, with the eyeholes glowing an eerie red glow.

Maria.

The seven teens could not help but stare in horror at what they were seeing. Volkov in the meantime was laughing his head off in a twisted sense of pride. In the distance of the ocean, thunder and lightning cracked the skies.

"Um…dudes?" inquired Beast Boy, "Now what?"

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Author's note: Sorry for the bit of lateness. School crept up on me again. Anyways here is my fifteenth installment of my first fic. Hope you like what I've been working on. As usual, please Read and give me a Review! I want them!

17


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own… Ah, forget it!

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The Oil rig, a hundred and forty-three miles off-shore.

The sun was nowhere to bee seen as dark storm clouds completely carpeted the sky above. The sky was so dark that everything seemed too gray for anyone too see. In the distance, thunder cracks sound off and lightning bolts illuminate small cracks in the atmosphere every few moments.

A perfect scenery for what has transcended that day.

On the collapse portion of the Oil rig, the Titans, the siblings, and the infamous Dr. Volkov stood in their places, at a loss for words. And who wouldn't be considering what they were gawking at.

Floating a few feet in front and above of the entire company, was _her,_ Maria. Her insect-like humanoid figure gently lowering itself down onto the solid platform of the rig. All the while not loosing the attention of her onlookers. Volkov had a grin on his face that nearly stretched to both his ears. The Titans had mixed expressions of terror and anxiety on their faces, expecting things to go very nasty from this point on. The two siblings however shared a sort of awe in their expressions.

Both Riya and Sakura stared at her, not knowing what to think anymore. All their struggles and conquest has finally bared fruit at last. But what have they produced exactly? They thought they knew all this time. But now, they were absolutely lost. And they knew it. They couldn't smile, frown, or show fear, they're just lost. The great figure of Maria before them was both familiar and strange to them at the same time. Though they can recognize her, they also had a strange sense unfamiliarity with her.

"Do you see her, you fools!" cried out Dr. Volkov.

All the teens took their sights away from Maria for a moment to see the Doctor. At that point as well, the giant figure that was Maria finally settled down on solid ground and simply stood there looking down curiously on her strange audience.

"She is alive!" cried out Dr. Volkov, "Witness that which I have brought upon this world! The ultimate power is mine!"

Maria simply stared at the curios scene, paying close attention to the old man as he spoke.

"Now that I have her power in my grasp, I will remake this world as it should be. A world where humankind once again will bow down to the natural process. Nothing can stop me now! Especially not you, Titans."

"You're insane!" retorted Robin while drawing a fan of birdarangs from his utility belt, "You really think you can actually hold all that power? You'll crush yourself in a blink!"

"And do you think you have what it takes to control this power, Mr. Robin of the Titans? You, who understand nothing of power, can never hold responsibility over this world!"

"You're just another power hungry madman, like all the rest we've aced in the past!" said Raven while readying herself for action, "Power mongers who care of nothing else but themselves!"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Beast Boy while putting up his fist, "All you want is to be king of the world! I bet you couldn't care less for the rest of us!"

"You fools!" retorted Dr. Volkov, "I deserve this power! I brought her back and gave her form, why should I not be able to wield her power for that!"

"Because you are only willing to use such power for destruction!" answered Starfire while preparing starbolts in each hand, "We cannot allow such irresponsible use of power!"

"That's right, dawg!" said Cyborg while aiming his sonic cannon, "Freaky monster, or no freaky monster, you're goin' down!

"You are just a bunch of foolish children!" retorted Volkov, "You'll never be able to understand that this is my destiny! I was the only one who knew how to bring her back and therefore I am the only one destined to inherit her power. No other can even come close to what I have achieved this day! No-one can stop me now not even you. You are nothing but insects, you hear me? You are insignificant and not worth a single---!"

"Mother!"

Dr. Volkov's incoherent rant was interrupted by a sudden call. Volkov, the Titans, and even Riya, turn to the source of the call. It was Sakura, calling out to the hideous form of Maria. She was smiling like a ten-year-old kid on Christmas Eve.

"Mother!" Sakura continues to call, "It's me!"

Maria simply stayed stark still, looking down curiously at the girl who was calling out to her. The white mask that served as her face could not bare emotion.

"Don't you recognize me?" continued Sakura, "Please… we're family aren't we?"

Maria continues to simply stare.

"Mother…?"

There was an uncomfortably long moment of silence where nothing was said by anyone there. Volkov and the Titans look curiously while Sakura kept her smile, however Riya was getting uneasy. In truth, he too would make a call out to his mother as well just as his sister did but was beaten to the punch by her. She was their mother, he knew that. He's had dreams like this before, and he should be happy for it. He actually was happy to a degree, but something was telling him then that there was something horribly wrong in the picture. Every instinct inside of him was telling him to get away from there.

Sakura was gleeful as ever. She continued to look up at her so called 'mother' with a childish smile. All that work has finally paid off. The mother she saw in her dreams has finally manifested herself in real life. Still, she also felt uneasiness somewhere inside her. But she chose to hide that little bit of insecurity deep inside her in favor of the glee she was showing at that moment.

Maria simply stared at her offering no response at all.

The silence continued for quite some time until something happened that no-one could have expected. The empty eyeholes on Maria's face began to glow a bit brighter. She raised her arm and held her palm out towards Sakura's position. Sakura's simile began to fade. Riya was getting more anxious now.

Suddenly, bluish stands of energy began to gather in Maria's palm. The energy formed into a small blue sphere of light which steadily began to grow larger as more energy was gathered. Sakura's smile completely disappeared and her glee was gradually replaced by fear. An expression she shared with her brother at that moment who was looking onward. Riya was now sure that something was definitely wrong and he did the one thing that he knew was right.

"Sakura!" He called out as he rushed forward.

The sphere of energy in Maria's hand reached its peak size and shot out like a cannon towards Sakura. Sakura couldn't do anything at that moment to stand still in shock. Fortunately enough, Riya had reached her by then, grabbed her still body, and pulled her out of the way and preventing her from being incinerated. The energy sphere struck the ground inches from the siblings. Riya and Sakura blown away a distance by the massive explosion that rocked the entire rig.

The Titans fought to keep their balance. Dr. Volkov fell forward on his face. Riya and Sakura landed on a lower level platform of the rig on what appears to be a helipad.

"Argh!" "Uugh!"

The shockwave subsided after a moment or two. Everyone got their bearings once again and quickly recovered They all looked up at Maria who seemed relaxed among other things.

"What in the name of…!" cried out Dr. Volkov, "I did not tell you to attack! Why did you--!

"WHO ARE YOU?"

An eerie voice emanated from the still standing figure of Maria. A voice that sounded beautiful and horrible at the same time. Like the voice of the best singer taken and dipped in a pool of boiling liquid mercury, to be abstract. It sent chills down the spines of those who heard it.

"Wha…what do you…what are you saying?"

"WHO ARE YOU TO THINK YOU RULE ME?"

"Wh—what, I…I am your creator."

"CREATOR, YOU SAY?"

"I am the one who made you who you are now! I gave you your powers so you must follow as I say! Do you understand me! You'll do only as I say and when I say it!"

"YOU ARE MASTER OF NOTHING. YOU WHO ARE WEAK AND POWERLESS."

"…!"

"I AM TRUE POWER, ULTIMATE IN ALL. WHY SHALL I SUBMIT TO ANYONE LESS THEN MY FORM?"

"But…I am your master!"

"YOU ARE A CORPSE."

And with that, Maria floats upward some twenty feet off the ground, her inset wings glowing, and raises both arms above her head. Where her palms were, she gathered energy into a concentrated sphere as before. Dr. Volkov's eyes grew wide with a lot of fear which paralyzed him on the spot. Behind him the Titans, who were simply watching everything unfold before them, decided to take evasive action.

"Titans, move!" ordered Robin.

The Titans ran/flew in different directions to avoid being directly behind Volkov. At that same moment, Maria unleashed her energy sphere towards Dr. Volkov's direction. The doctor wanted to scream but even before he could let out a breath, the energy sphere reached him. He was completely vaporized in less than a second. A huge explosion followed afterwards.

The explosion subsided. Maria stared down at the site of where the late Dr. Volkov once stood. There was nothing left of the Doctor.

"TO END IS AN INNEVITABILITY IN ALL THINGS," she said, "ONLY POWER IS FOREVER AND SO ONLY POWER CAN TRULY RULE THIS WORLD. ALL THAT WHICH IS DESTINED TO END SHALL END IN MY WRATH."

"No way, lady!"

Maria turned to see the source of the sudden voice. She saw that it was Robin standing ready with his bo staff extended.

"If you think that we are gonna simply stand by while you wreck everything in this world," said Robin, "think again!"

As Robin finishes, the rest of the team gathered behind him and took ready fighting poses. Taking their usual positions, the threateningly stare up at Maria' great figure floating above them.

"YOU CAN NEVER DEFEAT ME."

"We've heard that before," said Cyborg, "and it usually never turns out that way."

"Titan's go!" commanded Robin.

Immediately, the team dispersed into multiple directions. Maria couldn't keep track of all of them as they scrambled so she couldn't attack right away leaving her wide open. This opportunity was not missed.

Starfire flew up to Maria's eye level with hands fully charged with raw tamaranian energy. Starfire's eyes glowed a bright green as she began pelting Maria with a shower of starbolts. Almost all of the starbolts made a direct hit causing Maria to convulse in a number of ways.

At the end of Starfire's barrage, Maria recovered surprisingly fast. Maria came to counter Starfire's attack by charging an energy sphere on one hand and throwing it in Starfire's direction. Starfire gasped and quickly flew out of the way as the energy sphere came at her like a missile. She managed to clear it and the energy sphere eventually fell into the ocean.

Maria prepared another energy sphere on her other hand. Starfire noticed and began to fly upwards. Maria let loose the energy sphere again in Starfire's direction. At the rate it was going the sphere would intercept Starfire should she continue to fly up. So she quickly changed direction and dived back down avoiding the energy sphere. But as she dived, Maria caught her off-guard and grabbed her body with a giant hand.

Starfire Struggled as soon as she realized she was bound by giant fingers. Maria was staring into Starfire's figure emotionlessly through her empty eyeholes. Starfire was getting nervous, but as luck would have it she had a comrade's aide just in time.

A beam of blue sonic energy hit Maria on the arm that held Starfire. The shock of the blast caused Maria to convulse in pain as well as to loosen her grim on Starfire. Starfire slipped off Maria's grasp and made a clean getaway. Below, Cyborg was still aiming his sonic cannon. Maria immediately paid him attention. Cyborg immediately let loose another sonic blast directly into Maria's face. The impact caused Maria to tilt her head back and scream in apparent pain. She was again defenseless.

Beast Boy took that opportunity for himself quickly enough. He had transformed into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and charged Maria's low hovering figure. With his massive jaw, the green T-rex clamed onto the Maria's leg and yanked her down with a great amount of force. Maria fell flat on her back kicking up a huge dust cloud.

Beast Boy stomped around looking for the fallen form of Maria. Instead, he got a sphere of energy shoot directly at his face. The impact caused Beast Boy to spontaneously return to his elfin form and fly back a couple dozen feet into the air. He flailed his arms to try and reorient himself.

"Whoa—whoa—whoa!"

Fortunately for him, Raven showed up and caught the flailing animorph with a black sphere of telekinetic energy in midair. Beast boy clutched his nose, which was smoking comically.

"Dude, why can't people just quite hitting me on the nose!" he complained out loud.

Maria recovered and stood back up on her feet amidst the ruble. She immediately gathered energy in one hand to form into a sphere. She through it at Raven and Beast Boy's direction. Beast Boy gasped as Raven took her free hand and formed a black energy shield to block the attack. The sphere of energy made impact but did not break Raven's defense.

Maria saw this and gave it another try this time throwing three spheres in rapid succession. Raven did her best to hold her ground. The three projectiles hit Raven's shield dead center, much to Raven's discomfort. The impacts were severe enough to make Raven loose the shield entirely, leaving her defenseless. Maria took this opportunity to let out one last energy sphere towards the sorceress.

Thinking fast, Beast Boy, now free of Ravens magic, transformed into a Pterodactyl, grabbed Raven by her shoulders and fly away just in time to avoid the sphere of energy.

Maria's sight followed the fleeing animorph and started to prepare another shot. She couldn't continue since an exploding birdarang found its target at her hand. The birdarang's explosion cancelled out Maria's attack. Below her, Robin held out more birdarangs and immediately threw them at Maria. Maria instinctively covered her face with one arm to block the incoming projectiles. The birdarangs exploded, shooting up some dust.

"Starfire!" Robin called out with an outstretched hand.

Starfire heard and came swooping down, with her own arm out stretched. She grabbed Robin's arm and carried him up with her. They both zoomed towards Maria's figure at full speed. Maria let down her blocking arm so that she could see again. She saw the two teens heading directly for her.

"Star, now!" exclaimed Robin.

Starfire knew what the plan was. In the middle of their daring flight, Starfire tossed the boy wonder towards Maria's prone figure. Robin instantly oriented himself so that he came at Maria's face feet first. The impact was hard as Robin's metal laced boot met Maria's masked face. Her head was jolted back and she yelped in pain.

Starfire followed up by flying head-on and striking the disoriented Maria in the chest with a powered-up fist. The impact made Maria convulse in more pain. Down below, Cyborg gave the last strike by with his sonic cannon, letting off an extra powerful blast of concentrated sonic energy.

The final attack from Cyborg caused Maria to fall on her back once again. She kicked up a major dust cloud in the process. In the wake of that triple attack strategy, the Titans gathered once again.

"Boo-ya!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Did that do it?" asked Beast Boy.

A long moment of silence follows as the dust settles again. All five Titans stare eagerly at the site. Then, a rumbling on the platform.

"Somehow, I do not believe so…" said Starfire.

Suddenly, Maria's figure pops back up in a flash. Her empty eyeholes glowed even brighter, as did her spread insect wings. The Titans grew more nervous.

"FEEBLE MORTALS," said Maria, "YOU CAN NEVER MATCH ABSOLUTE POWER."

Maria raised her hands once again and prepared a huge sphere of energy. She releases it in the Titan's direction. The Titan's eyes grew wide. Naturally they didn't stick around too long.

"Scramble!" exclaimed Robin.

The whole team split in opposite directions to evade the massive sphere of energy as in made impact on the platform and exploded in a brilliant flash of light.

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Meanwhile, on the helipad.

Riya was on his knees comforting Sakura on the floor lying down as she slowly recovered from the attack that was made towards them earlier. Sakura was in more or less a state of shock after what happened. She was still unconscious for the most part. Riya did

"Sakura?"

She didn't respond.

"…Sakura?"

Again she was unresponsive. Riya knew she was physically fine. She was breathing and had a pulse but both were relatively shallow.

"…Sakura!"

Instantly, the girls eyes shot open and she sprang up to a sitting position, panting hard. Riya immediately held on to her to stabilize her.

"Sis, are you okay?" inquired Riya.

She slowed her panting to a heavy breathing. She clamped her eyes shut and brought a hand to her head to try a comfort a migraine.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" asked Riya again.

"I…I'm fine…" Sakura weakly answered.

Riya breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing on this day has gone as planned and everything seemed to only go downhill. He was thankful of that one bit of good news he's heard today. But now he was just as lost as ever, having no idea what to do next.

"Mother…" said Sakura, drawing Riya's attention.

"Huh?"

"How could she…? Why did she do…why?"

"…sis…"

"Why did she do that? Couldn't she recognize us? Aren't we her---?

"Sis, I don't think it's that simply anymore."

Sakura met Riya's gaze. She recognized the sense of confusion on his face which she shared with him. Her brother has done a great job to keep this cool of his for a while. Sakura could only wish she had his same coolness, she needed more than him.

Sakura then saw past Riya and looked behind him. What she saw filled her face with fright. Her eyes grew wide and her pupils shrank into dots. Riya noticed and looked behind his back to see. Maria's giant figure hovered over them, staring, observing. Unlike his sister, Riya's face filled up with apprehension at the sight of her.

"YOU CALL ME MOTHER…" said Maria, "WHY?"

"Why did you attack us?" inquired Riya, "We're your children!"

"CHILDREN…?"

Riya got up from his position as Sakura remained seated on the floor. He looked at their mother in her empty eyes.

"You are our cause for existence. We were made using your blood. Our strength, our skill, everything we are comes from you. Your blood is our blood. How could you hurt us like that? Don't you care who we are?"

"EMOTION IS IRELIVANT TO ME. AS IS THE EMOTION OF THOSE BELOW ME. WHY SHOULD I FEEL SENTIMENT TOWRDS YOU?"

"No. No! this isn't right. You are our mother! You gave us our lives! Everything we have done was for you to rise again. We are supposed to be a family! You supposed to be our guiding light, the one who would give us our purpose!"

"YOUR ONLY PORPUSE, AS THOSE WHO POSSES LIFE,…"

Maria raised her hand to gather energy. In her hand formed a large sphere of energy. She raised her hand in a ready throwing position.

"…IS TO END."

Riya and Sakura got very nervous at that point and started to back away. But they were trapped with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. They knew they were as good as dead at that point and they were horrified at the prospect of knowing who would do the killing.

But just as Maria was about to release the massive sphere of energy.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Maria looked to her side. Raven was telekinetically lifting a five hundred gallon water tank which she hurled towards Maria like a missile. Maria couldn't react in time as the impact caused to loose here aim and she accidentally hurled the energy sphere away from the two siblings.

Maria grabbed the water tank and hurled it away into sea. Maria ignored the siblings all-together and concentrated on Raven. Raven was lifting an assortment of heavy pieces of ruble and throwing them in Maria's direction. Maria simply batted them away with her arms. Raven eventually stopped her barrage and simply hovered there.

Maria prepared to attack her but out of nowhere, Starfire launched a huge starbolt at Maria. Maria convulsed in pain from the impact of the starbolt. This again left her vulnerable. Above her, a green albatross positioned himself directly above her figure. The green albatross spontaneously transformed into a stegosaurus in midair and came down on Maria, spinning like a yoyo. The green stegosaurus hit Maria on the shoulder with its horned tail.

The impact of which caused Maria to fall back down onto the platform. She crashed feet first and went down on her knees for support. Meanwhile, the green stegosaurus transformed back into an albatross, glided down onto the platform, and landed in the elfin form of Beast Boy. Raven and Starfire formed up behind the animorph. Beast Boy looked back and gave a thumbs-up to the girls and they smile in return.

A rumbling occurred and the three looked back at the scene of Maria's crash. Maria rose once again to a stand. She starched a hand and started to gather energy. The three Titans took caution by preparing to evade.

A whirling sound was heard from the air. A small blue disk flew through the air and hit Maria's energized arm. Maria looked at the arm having noticed she lost feeling in it. She saw that her hand was completely frozen in ice. She looked back down to see Robin standing in a follow through position. She raised her other hand to gather energy.

Robin beat her to the punch by taking another freeze disk from his belt and throwing it quickly at her other hand. The disk flew too fast for Maria to have it miss her. Upon impact, the disk completely encased Maria's hand in solid ice.

Maria looked at her hand then back at Robin. Robin had already prepared a fan of freeze disks and hurled them straight into Maria's body. Every single disk met its target all over Maria's torso area. In the end, Maria's entire body was completely frozen disabling her from moving.

Below Robin looked up satisfyingly at his work. Cyborg ran up next to Robin then and there.

"Cyborg." Called out Robin.

Cyborg looked at the boy wonder.

"I think it's time to finish this," said Robin, pulling out a black and gold disk from his utility belt and holding it out for Cyborg to see, "You got the _sonic_?"

Cyborg looked, then he grinned. He held out his arm and transformed it into his sonic cannon.

"As long as you got the _boom,_" Cyborg responded.

Both Titans nodded to each other in affirmation. Robin began the charge and Cyborg closely followed. Ahead, Maria was still struggling to break free from the ice. Then came the Time for Robin and Cyborg's Sonic Boom attack. Robin threw the disk towards Maria's frozen figure. Cyborg quickly followed up with an extra powerful sonic blast aimed at the disk. The blue beam came into contact with the disk and the disk shot like a missile towards Maria. The combined power of the explosive disk and the sonic beam created a brilliant explosion which completely engulfed Maria's figure.

Te explosion subsided and left a whole lot of smoke. No one could see anything for quite some time. But the Titans didn't seem to feel the need to see anything anyway. They are pretty convinced they had succeeded. They have all gathered together once again.

"Boo-yah!" exclaimed Cyborg, "Now that's what I call an explosion."

"Dudes, you totally barbequed her butt!" said Beast Boy.

"Yes, congratulations dear friends," said Starfire, applauding, "you have done well!"

"So are we done here or what?" asked Raven.

"Kinda," said Robin, "We need to stay a bit longer to secure the scene. Also, I guess we have to take in those two. And gather as much evidence of what happened here. After that we can just leave everything else to the coast guards here and as soon as we---"

_**CRASH!**_

The Titans looked behind them at the source of the noise. On the spot were Maria has fallen, ruble to fall out of the dust cloud. Inside the dust cloud, something was moving. The Titans went wide eyed. To the side, Riya and Sakura have gotten up and walked so that they could see the scene as well.

"FOOLISH MORTALS," said something from within the cloud, "YOU CAN NOT DESTROY…WHAT IS ABSOLUTE POWER."

The cloud of dust and smoke subsided, Maria's figure emerged. It was a terrifying sight. Her outer shell was cracked in several places and she was bleeding out some kind of white glowing fluid. Her mask of a face was severely cracked and barely holding itself together. Her wings were severely bent out of shape. Yet she stood tall, and did not show any sign of pain.

The Titans stared nervously. Riya and Sakura shared the same expression. They all continue to stare as Maria began to float upwards once again.

"YOU SHALL SEE IT IS MEANINGLESS TO FIGHT."

She crossed her arms to seemingly hug herself. She began to shiver and pulsate in unimaginable ways. The cracks in her shell radiated a bright white glow. The sky above her seemed to grow darker that it should. Below, all seven teens watch haplessly.

Suddenly she shot her arms sideways in a gut wrenching scream. The Titans, along with the siblings, clasped their ears and tucked their heads down. Maria continued to scream until her entire figure glowed a brilliant white. Then she simply exploded in a blinding flash of white.

For a brief moment in time the entire atmosphere around the Oil rig. Everything was blinded. It lasted only a few moments however. Soon everything returned to their proper light. The seven teens released their hands from their ears and slowly got back up again. They looked around to find nothing. Then suddenly, a giant white mask fell from the sky and shattered on the ground.

They looked at the mask as it fell and shattered then they looked up. They found something horrible. The Titans stared with wide eyes and gaping mouths. Similarly the siblings had an expression of fright written all over their faces.

They were all seeing a new Maria.

Her body now had a glassy silver color, pulsating with a brilliant white aura. Her wings resembled that of moth wings, large and also a glowing silver color. Her head, full of long silver wires of hair, bared a featureless face with nothing to it but two large composite insect-like eyes that were a dark blue color on the left and a dark green color on the right. The most noticeable feature of this new body was bright golden colored crystalline growth on her chest just below the neck line.

The seven teens below her were at a loss of words. They simply continue to stare in a mix of awe and fear.

"I AM POWER. I AM ABSOLUTE. MY REIGN OF DESTRUCTION SHALL CONSUME ALL!"

With that she raised her hand. Around her body formed four perfect spheres of white energy. The spheres orbited around her until she dropped her arm towards the platform bellow her. The spheres stopped their orbit and came soaring down.

Thinking fast, Raven immediately made a shield around her team like before. Riya pulled down Sakura low to the floor and covered her with his body for protection.

All four spheres made an impact on separate locations but none of the teens were hit, surprisingly. In fact none even came close. The four spheres penetrated into the inner structure of the Oil rig that was still intact and blew up from within. On the surface, the explosions made it hard for anyone to keep their footing as the attack started a deadly chain reaction.

Somewhere inside, the power generators were now blowing up causing massive internal damage. The entire structure started to collapse on itself and it took the Titans, Riya and Sakura with it. Eventually it happened.

The supporting structures failed and the entire rig fell into the sea. A huge piece of ruble, broken from the main structure, made huge splashes in the water. Each splash made a huge fountain of white water. The biggest piece of the structure created such a huge splash, it caused a five hundred foot tower of water to rise and fall. Eventually everything started to sink into the ocean.

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After the chaos.

Maria simply hovered in place. She was staring down at where the old Oil rig was once standing. Virtually nothing was left of the structure. In the water pieces of debris floated on the surface creating a mess among the waves. Maria searched for signs of life but found none to speak of.

Seemingly satisfied, she stares into the distance, to the east. A hundred and forty-three miles away. She could feel something. She knew what it was. She knew it all to well, her destiny to destroy what are those that posses life. And there were plenty of those beyond the distance. She could feel their presence from that range. It was a sweet nectar that was enticing to her.

She knew what she had to do, what she wanted to do.

Her wing glowed a bright white. From a standstill, she began to fly away into the distance picking up speed as she went, leaving the ruined Oil rig behind in her wake.

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A few moments pass, back at the ruins of the Oil rig.

_**SPLASH!**_

Robin's head breaks the surface of the water. He immediately is gasping for deep breaths. Soon thereafter, the rest of the Titans broke the surface, gasping for air.

"Okay, what happened!" inquired a relatively shocked Beast Boy.

"She became a lot more powerful," said Raven, "I don't even know how that's possible."

"Where has she gone to?" inquired Starfire.

Robin was the one to look around to the east. He could barely make out a glowing white figure heading off into the distance.

"Dammit!" Robin exclaimed.

"Yo! What is it, dawg?" inquired Cyborg.

"Maria. She's headed for the coast."

Starfire gasped. "Oh no, the city, the people!"

"I know! Cyborg, summon the T-sub."

"On it, dawg." Cyborg pressed a button on the small pad located in his arm's built in computer. Moments later. The T-sub broke the surface. Luckily for the Titans, the T-sub was not damage at all during the crash of the rig and was still in top shape. It hovered low over the water for the Titans to board. Once onboard they all take their respective cockpits bubbles and strap themselves in.

"Okay everything seems fine," said Robin over the radio, "all systems are in the green, let's get ready to---"

"Robin, hold on!" interrupted Starfire's voice, "What about our fallen foes, Arsenic and Lithium?"

Robin was silent for a moment.

"…Raven?" called out Robin over the radio.

"…I'm sorry, Robin, Starfire," came Raven's voice, "I don't sense them anymore…"

"Then… we can only assume the worst."

"…"

the ship was silence for a moment.

"But we can't linger on that right now," said Robin, " we have a city to save."

He pushed on the throttle sending the ship forward. And they were on their way. On their way to their precious city to have what would probably be one of their biggest battles of their entire career.

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Back at the ruins.

_**SPLASH!**_

Riya and Sakura broke the surface of the water simultaneously, both gasping for air. They looked at each other to inspect whether the other had been injured. They both seemed fine. Riya looked around some more. He spotted the powerboat they used this morning in the distance. It had amazingly stayed intact throughout the chaos He pointed to it to direct Sakura's line of sight.

Together, they both swam for the powerboat. They reached it and climbed onboard. They sat down in their seats, breathing heavily. They were practically worn out and were only catching their breaths. Riya stared off into the distance and spotted two light sources that were getting further away.

He thought about it for a moment. He started the engine of the boat. Sakura noticed this and looked at Riya curiously.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"The Titans are heading back towards the coast, probably going after _her._ I wanna follow them."

"Why?"

"I…don't know anymore…"

"…"

They were both silent fore a few short moments. Riya then held the steering wheel and stepped on the throttle hard. The boat zoomed towards the east. As he drove, Riya checked his instruments. They still had half a tank full of gas. Just enough to reach the mainland with.

Neither one of them knew why they were heading towards the mainland and after _her_. They didn't know much of anything anymore. Everything they had worked for, struggled for has been utterly shattered in front of their faces. Now they were as lost as they have ever been.

But they will not give up just yet. They still want their purpose. And they know that one way or another, it will come from _her._

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Author's note: The end is near, at least for this fic. Here is my second to the last entry. Of coarse I only say that because the next update will be the conclusion of the story. I may add something of an epilogue afterwards or along with the final chapter. I expect the next update to take a while because I want to make it really big. Wait for it!

As usual. Please READ & REVIEW!


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I'm done with this…

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Jump City.

It's afternoon, but the sun is still not yet visible. Instead the sky is still covered by an almost endless blanket of storm clouds that stretched over the horizon. Lightning bolts and cracks of thunder became ever more frequent on the past couple of minutes. A single drop of rain has yet to hit the ground.

All over the city, there was a mass panic. People in cars, bikes, and even bare feet were running away from a truly horrifying sight. Above the frightened metropolis hovered the bright glowing figure of Maria.

She entered the city about twenty minutes ago. The first sign of life she spotted, she started hurling her spheres of explosive energy at. The police had been called ahead by the Titans warning them of the grave situation. In response, the JCPD immediately scrambled to evacuate the citizens. People all over were now running towards the safest hiding spots, namely underground locations such as parking structures and the subway under the supervision of Jump City's most reliable officers.

Other's were taking the fight to Maria headlong.

"This is Cobra One, units, do you copy?"

"This is Cobra Two, copy!"

"Cobra Three here, we copy."

"Cobra Four, we copy as well."

"Cobra One to all units, attack the target at your discretion!"

"Wilco!" they all responded.

The Cobra Squadron, JCPD's personal helicopter attack unit, got the call first to deal with the problem. Each was an AH-64 Apache Gunship, fully armed and ready for the worst case emergency. At this point, it needed to be.

Cobra One swooped in fast and low on Maria's position over the rooftops. He launcehed several rockets towards Maria's body. Maria saw but was not able to block in time. The rockets exploded brilliantly as they made impact. Maria convulsed slightly in pain. She looked back up at the sky. Cobra's Two and Three were in prime missile launching position.

"Cobra Two, Fox three!"

"Cobra Three, Fox three!"

Both gunships fired a hellfire missile directed to wards Maria who didn't bother to even move out of the way. When the missiles did hit, they kicked up a smoke cloud that impaired everyone's vision of Maria.

"Did we get her!"

From out of the smoke came a bright sphere of energy hurtling murderously at the two choppers. The pilots inside almost popped their eyes out of their sockets.

"Evade Cobra, evade!"

Cobra Three managed to get out of the sphere's way but Cobra Two felt the impact on his tail. Cobra Two, in their damaged state, spun wildly out of control in the sky before crashing down on one of the building rooftops in a heap of twisted metal. Though the crashed seemed violent, the chopper's main body seemed mostly intact.

"Cobra Two is down!"

"Cobra Two, do you still copy!"

"We copy, One! Our ride's banged up but we're alright."

"Roger. Cobras, form up behind me!"

The three remaining choppers formed up and began to charge in on Maria again. Maria launched an attack by sending a few more Energy spheres towards the squad. The choppers saw it coming and took evasive maneuvers missing every single sphere. The all began to fire their machine guns in a counter attack. Maria covered her face with an arm as she is pelted with bullets.

The choppers approach ever closer until they are almost within arms length of her. Maria releases her hand from her face and swats one of the incoming choppers. She manages to hit the left engine of Cobra Three.

"I'm hit! I'm hit!"

"Three, what is your status!"

"She got our left engine! Can't stay in the air! I need to make an emergency landing. I'm out of this fight."

"Cobra Four, smother the target!"

"Cobra Four here, wilco!"

Cobra four began to launch its supply of Hydra rockets and Hellfire missiles at Maria. Maria, for once took evasive action and blocked most of the attack with her arms while floating down low around the buildings. Cobra Four's armaments mostly hit Maria's figure but some still hit the building sides creating an awful mess. Maria disappeared behind a Particular sky scraper and Cobra Four chased her.

Upon reaching the site of her disappearance, Cobra four has found out they had lost their target. Maria was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she!"

"Cobra One her, Cobra four, do you have the target on scope."

"Uh, situation pending sir."

Inside Cobra Four, the pilot and the gunner frantically search the immediate area. For a long time they couldn't find a thing. Then from behind them, almost instantly, a familiar giant figure appeared.

"Behind us!"

As Cobra Four hurriedly try to pull a one-eighty, Maria swatted the chopper away with a backhand. The choppers spun uncontrollably and crashed into a sliding wreckage on the street bellow, crashing into a few parked cars and knocking over a street lamp in the process. Maria approached the final resting place Cobra four slowly.

"Cobra Four, What's your status!"

"We're still alive, but jeez, get her away from us!"

"Roger, we're giving you some support fire. Get away while you can!"

Cobra one unleashed a volley of rockets, missiles and machine gun fire towards Maria. After the many hits, Maria turned around to acknowledge the attacking gunship while completely ignoring the downed Cobra Four. Cobra One continued to fire on her with a constant supply of its munitions. Maria countered by launching Sphere of energy towards the offensive aircraft.

Cobra One saw it coming and prepared to evade. To his surprise however, the sphere broke apart in mid flight into a couple dozen smaller spheres of energy that collectively stormed the hapless chopper.

"Oh, sh--!"

Cobra One was completely pelted by the attack, having had no means of escape. The collective damage from the attack was severe enough to force the chopper to the ground. It spun out of control as it came down towards the surface streets. Eventually, it came to rest in the small pond in the middle of one of the city's many public parks. The gunship lies in a smoking heap, but miraculously, the pilot and the gunner survived the crash and began to crawl out of their mangled craft.

Maria watched all this happen with total lack of emotion.

"FUTILE. JUST LIKE YOU EXISTANCE…" she said.

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Off the coast.

The T-sub was making haste towards Jump City. Inside, the Titans were increasingly getting anxious. They had called ahead via their on-board radio to warn the police about Maria. They were hopping that their massage wasn't too late.

Even from where they were approaching, they could see in the distance signs of fires burning and black smoke bellowing out of the streets. Maria had arrived early and it would seem that she had already cause some damage. This worried the Titans even more. All they could do now was to hurry as much as possible.

"Yo, Rob," called out Cyborg over the radio, "We just got a report by the chief of police."

"And…?" asked Robin.

"They received our massage and began general evacuation procedures about twenty minutes ago. They're still in the process of evacuating some of the citizens in the eastern part of town. Also, JCPD's Cobra unit already tried to tangle with Her but were shot down."

"What's the damage?"

"From what he said, there hasn't been a single casualty yet, even from the Cobra unit. But there's an increasing number of injuries on the streets, some are getting real serious, man. We have to haul butt A-S-A-Now!"

"Alright, we're about to approach the city limits. Everyone prepare for battle!"

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At the western shoreline.

The amazing vessel that is the T-ship zoomed in low over the beach, pulling behind it a wake of seawater. It flew past the beach and over the city streets like a falcon on a hunt. For this particular hunt, it was looking for a particularly large prey. Prey which was fairly easy to find. Over yonder in the middle of downtown, Maria was wreaking havoc.

Maria was constantly forming spheres of energy around her body and mentally hurtling them into any and every structure within visual range. Entire buildings were starting to burn as the blew up from the inside. Maria never stooped to even breath. Her onslaught laid waste to all in her path.

Of coarse the Titans did not take this lying down.

"Lock on!" said Robin, "Launching missiles!"

From the bottom of the T-sub opened several panels from which a volley of sidewinder missiles was released. The volley of missiles flew directly at Maria from the back. The sneaky move managed to catch Maria's attention as she turned to acknowledge her attackers. She was a bit surprised to see the Titans still alive. They were more persistent than she thought at first.

"Firing lasers!" said Robin.

From the T-sub's front end, several other ports opened up and from them came a barrage of laser fire that was pelting over Maria's floating form. She tried to block the incoming blasts with both her arms. The T-sub swooped by her figure. Maria looked behind her at the T-sub that passed by which was now turning around, preparing for another attack run.

She acted first, producing a particularly large sphere of bright energy in front of herself. When she felt that the sphere was big enough she launched it towards the T-ship that was heading her way.

"Robin!" exclaimed Starfire over the radio.

"I know, Star," he responded, "Everyone, prepare to separate on my command."

The giant sphere of energy came closer and closer to the ship which only seemed to accelerate. Inside the T-sub the Titans became ever more tense, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Now!"

Just as the gigantic sphere of energy was about to impact the T-sub. The ship instantly sparated into it's five different pods each piloted by an individual Titan. The sphere of energy hit nothing but air and continued to drift harmlessly into the upper atmosphere. Maria was somewhat surprised at this turn of events.

"Titans, make your attack run!" commanded Robin over the radio.

Each pod began their attack run, bombarding Maria with a barrage of laser fire and missiles from different angles. Maria twisted and convulsed in pain after every impact. The amount of damage being dealt to her was truly overwhelming and she couldn't even bring her hands up to defend herself with. All five pods swooped past her as soon as they got too close to continue their attack.

"Titans, form up!" commanded Robin.

All five pods flew up in formation which was intended for reattachment. Slowly but surely, the vive pods slowly started to reconnect with each other. The forward pod, the central pod, the tail pod, and the two wing pods became one magnificent T-sub once again. However in that moment of short defenselessness, Maria recovered and made her counter attack

"HOPELESS PESTS."

She gathered more energy into a sphere and immediately directed it to the Titans' ship. The T-sub was still in its last stages of reattaching and was totally defenseless since it could not evade. Just as the T-sub reached its completion, so did the giant sphere of energy make impact.

The Titans were caught off-guard and the T-ship received extensive damage. It's entire underside lost almost all its armor plating. The ship manage to stay on its orientation, amazingly enough.

"Damage report!" demanded Robin.

"We've lost both engines!" responded Cyborg over the radio, "we can't keep to the air!"

"No choice, everyone bail out, now!"

in a split second after Robin gave that order, all five cockpit bubbles blew upwards and all five Titans bailed out into safety. The T-ship then started to spiral out of control until it finally crash landed on the wide span of the freeway. It skidded a few hundred feet before grinding to a halt. It stayed moderately intact but the T-ship won't see any flight time in the near future that's for sure.

------------------------------------------------

On one of the building rooftops.

Robin glided in in his specially made Glide suit which he stored in the T-sub as a back-up accessory and wore it on their way back to the city. The suit composed of a beak-shaped helmet and a pair of flexible wings made of a lightweight but very sturdy metallic alloy. The suit was worn over Robin's regular costume as an add-on.

The suit of his premiered itself during the case when the Titans came up against a talking piece of space tofu that wanted to steal all of the earth's cow population. Despite the ridiculous circumstances of that particular case, the suit was proven on the battlefield as a great asset to Robin. With it he can truly live up to his namesake.

Behind Robin The other Titans formed up. Beast Boy landed as a crow and transformed back into his elfin form. Raven came out of a black portal that materialized on the floor. Starfire came in carrying Cyborg by the shoulders. Upon setting down Cyborg immediately looked to where the T-ship had crashed. He wasn't happy.

"Oh man!" exclaimed Cyborg, "That is gonna take me forever to fix!"

"Hey dude," said Beast Boy, "We outta be thankful were not soup right now!"

"Beast Boy is right," said Robin to his team, "As long as we can still fight there is still hope."

"THERE IS NO HOPE."

The Titans turned to see Maria hovering close to them to the side. Her body was as immaculate as ever and didn't seem damage at all.

"I AM THE ULTIMATE BEING. MY RAIN OF DEATH SHALL COVER THIS LAND. THERE IS NOTHING ANYONE CAN DO TO STOP ME."

"Not on our watch!" exclaimed Cyborg aiming his sonic cannon.

"Hope is the one thing that keeps the people of this city and everywhere else a reason to live," said Raven, "No matter what, it must not be allowed to be extinguished by you or any other being."

"You rampant destruction shall end tonight!" exclaimed Starfire.

Starfire, being her aggressive and righteously furious self, attacked first by zooming upwards and pelting Maria's figure with a barrage of starbolts. Maria was taken aback a bit and tried to block Starfire's attack. Starfire came to eyelevel with Maria who stared back. Starfire's eyes glowed bright green then she let loose a powerful optic blast towards Maria's figure. Maria jolted her head back and yelped in pain, disoriented.

"ARGH!"

Cyborg followed up this attack with his own. Taking a solid stand on the rooftop he was currently standing on, he charged his sonic cannon to a high degree. He aimed and fired a powerful blast that hit Maria's mid-section. Maria convulsed in pain as the blast forced her backward and crashing into a building side. Glass windows shattered and rained down on the streets.

"UUGH!"

Maria quickly recovered though and returned the Titan's attacks. She telepathically formed a bunch of energy spheres in front of her and directed them towards the Titans. The spheres of energy flew through the air at an astonishing rate. The Titans took immediate evasive maneuvers. Robin, Starfire, and Raven flew of to one side while Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl, grabbed Cyborg, and flew both of them away to the other side just as the spheres of energy turned the rooftop into a chimney.

Robin jumped off the building and glided through the air like a true bird of prey. He flew towards another rooftop and expertly perched on the edge. Once he had proper footing, he quickly reached into his belt, grabbed a few explosive birdarangs, and hurled them straight towards Maria. The birdarangs made impact and exploded brilliantly.

"DAHH!"

Maria countered by throwing a few energy spheres towards Robin who leapt off hi perch and glided away to evade the attack. This left Maria defenseless from her other side. Beast Boy readily exploited this. He flew in as a pterodactyl towards Maria's head. By the time Maria noticed something and turned her head to see, Beast Boy was already upon her. Beast Boy swooped in and quickly clawed at Maria's face. Maria convulsed in pain.

Beast Boy quickly circled around and swooped by once again performing the same attack. Maria tried to swat away Beast Boy but miserably failed at doing so. She saw Beast Boy circling around again, most likely to perform the same attack. She acted first and floated away from her spot. Predictably, Beast Boy followed her.

Maria led Beast Boy a distance before she made an attack. Maria gathered energy into a big sphere. Beast Boy saw this and slowed down to a stop. Maria released the sphere of energy towards Beast Boy who prepared to evade. However, the sphere suddenly exploded into a hundred smaller spheres that spread out like a firework. All the small spheres began to converge on Beast Boy who sweatdroped nervously knowing he didn't have an avenue of escape.

Luckily enough for Beast Boy, Raven suddenly flew up to him and formed a black shield around them both. The shield managed to absorb the whole of the attack. As soon as the attack subsided, Raven let down her shield and decided to throw a counter attack.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Raven shot forth a barrage of black lightning towards Maria and made clean hits. Maria backed up supposedly in pain. Quickly enough, Maria recovered and threw a bunch of energy spheres towards Raven and Beast Boy. Raven quickly formed a portal behind them and transported the both of them away and out of the path of the incoming spheres of energy. The spheres flew harmlessly into the atmosphere.

On a nearby rooftop Cyborg had taken up a prime position for attack. He transformed his arm into his sonic cannon. He aimed and fired. The blast hit Maria squarely on the side of her head causing her to wobble right into a building front, breaking the glass windows.

"OOF!"

Cyborg continued his attack, firing blast after blast of sonic energy at the pinned down figure of Maria. Maria struggled desperately against Cyborg's barrage of sonic blast but to no avail. Cyborg continued without tiring. That is until he heard a very ominous beeping.

Cyborg for some reason couldn't continue his attack and a closer inspection of his sonic cannon confirmed why. He saw on the little LCD screen a bright red massage: Overheat! He cursed himself for not seeing this coming. What can you expect from continuously blasting that sonic cannon for over a minute. He knew it would take him about thirty seconds to cool down his weapon.

Problem was he didn't have thirty seconds.

Maria had quickly recovered albeit a little shaky. She looked down on Cyborg threateningly. Cyborg looked up at Maria while sweatdropping nervously. He grinned like an idiot. Maria, apparently not amused, began to gather energy into a sphere that she was about to throw at Cyborg,

She was distracted when a bunch of explosive birdarangs hit her in the back. She swung around to face her attacker. Robin stood perched on the edge of the rooftop of a nearby building, ready with another fan of birdarangs. Maria ignored Cyborg and prepared to attack Robin.

Again she was distracted this time by huge pieces of debris that hit her side. She swung around again. Raven was telekinetically throwing broken pieces of roof along with Beast Boy in gorilla form. Together the two Titans continuously hurled slab after slab of broken concrete. Maria covered herself with her arms and contemplated on how to counter attack.

Yet again she was distracted by a zooming Starfire that charged Maria head-on at three hundred miles per hour fist first. Starfire impact with Maria was devastating. Even after the initial impact Starfire fly forward bring Maria in with her. Both of them eventually impacted a skyscraper and were actually buried within the standing structure.

"AAARGH!"

Starfire soon flew out of the rubble, leaving Maria entangled within the standing skyscraper. She was caught with in a network of cables and metal poles that encased her body and some even stabbing into her like nails. Maria struggled in apparent agony to free herself but the Titans would not let the opportunity pass.

"Cyborg!" called out Robin, "Is your sonic cannon cooled down yet?"

Cyborg looked up at Robin. "Yeah, just about!"

"I think it's time for us to try the sonic boom again," Robin reached into his belt and pulled out a red and black disk, "only this time with a bigger _boom!_"

"You got it, dawg!" he gave a thumbs up towards Robin then looked at Beast Boy, "Yo, BB, get over here man!"

Beast boy nodded in response. Knowing what to do Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl once again and leapt off his perch towards Cyborg's location. Robin in the meantime leapt off his perch and glided along the wind towards Maria. Beast Boy reached Cyborg and quickly grabbed him by the shoulders and carried him away. Robin, while in mid-flight, stalled and threw the red and black disk. Cyborg, also in mid-flight, shot an extra powerful blast of sonic energy towards the disk.

As with before the charged disk flew straight into Maria. It impacted and created a comparatively bigger explosion than before. It completely engulfed Maria in a brilliant blaze of bright yellow flames. For a while the atmosphere was as bright as daylight.

The explosion subsided. The building in which Mara was encased in was totally covered in a cloud of smoke. The atmosphere was dead silent.

The Titans had gathered on a nearby rooftop overlooking the scene. They stare long and hard but find no sign of Maria's body as the cloud of smoke completely covered the building and impaired any view of what was inside.

"Did that do it?" asked Beast Boy

"I would hope so," said Starfire.

"Man that was one big explosion," said Cyborg, "Rob, I didn't know you kept something that powerful on your belt."

"Just a little something I've been saving for a rainy day," said Robin.

"Appropriate weather," said Raven as she looked up at the still darkly clouded sky. On any other occasion, a sky like this would probably be something she would feel comfortable with. But today, the sky seemed nothing to be one continuously bad omen.

Then things decided to get a little worse.

Raven noticed the clouds starting to swirl over the building were Maria would be. Bolts of lightning and thunder became ever more frequent around that particular area too. All the Titans had also notice the turn of events and were increasingly getting nervous.

"This can't be good…" said Beast Boy.

Suddenly, bolts of lightning struck the building where Maria laid. The lightning bolts flashed at an abnormal rate, almost one bolt every second, all targeting the same spot. The Titans covered their eyes from the blinding flashes of light. This continued for about a few more moments until the building simply exploded.

The Titans uncovered their eyes to see. What they saw took the breath from their lungs.

Maria was still alive and barely looking damaged. Her body was glowing brighter than before and she was radiating out visible strands of static electricity. She rose above the mangled wreck of the building below her and rose above the Titans who were staring up in awe and fear.

"WORTHLESS IS YOUR ENDEVOR. YOU CAN NOT WIN…"

Maria stretched forth her right arm up to the heavens. Slowly, the limb gathered energy around it but not into spheres like before. Instead the energy seemed to be absorbed into the arm itself. Finally a last bolt of lightning struck the arm and blinded everyone who was looking, namely the Titans.

The Titans drew their sight back from the blinding light. They couldn't see a thing for about ten seconds or so. Eventually their sight came back and they looked back towards their enemy. It wasn't any comforting.

Maria's right arm all the way up to the shoulder. had completely transformed. The shoulder area had doubled in thickness while the whole forearm transformed into what looked like a gigantic sword of some kind. The blade was made of her own flesh and had the same outer appearance. The blade was also very broad and about twice the length of her regular arm. It was glowing brightly.

"Definitely not good…" said Beast Boy.

"ALL SHALL FALL BEFORE MY POWER!"

With that, Maria charged at the Titans, blade arm swinging.

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Meanwhile, on the docks.

Riya and Sakura finally arrived. Their powerboat was just docked at one of the many concrete ports. They themselves were standing on the dock staring up into the city. They saw it clearly, the battle between the Teen Titans and Maria. It was truly a spectacle to behold however there was one thing that was obvious.

"The Titans are losing…" said Sakura.

"They can't win," said Riya, "Not like this…"

"How so?"

"I've read up on Maria through the files that Dr. Volkov kept. The thing that's making her so powerful is her ability to absorb anything thrown at her and that energy she stores up and simply throws it back. Another thing that truly makes her invincible is that she is constantly evolving."

"Evolving?"

"Her body is constantly changing into an improved and more powerful form. Constantly she is adapting to any form of attack that is used on her. So the more you hit her the more she becomes stronger. Fighting her like this is hopeless and soon she will become totally invincible."

"Then…there is no hope now…is there?"

"…No…"

"…"

The two were silent. They knew as much that nothing they could ever do would be able to destroy the monster they had help create or rather re-create. They were lost. Completely without hope.

"You're wrong."

The two siblings looked to the side at the sound of the voice. It was Dr. Cannes. He was dressed in a wool sweater, leather jacket, and khaki pants. He had somehow traveled down to the docks and met with Riya and Sakura. Coincidence it may be but this was probably destined for them all at some point.

"There is still hope," said the old man.

"Dr. Cannes…" said Riya, "you're the last person I'd expect to show up."

"And you two are here just as I had expected. Lucky I was able to catch you two before you did something stupid."

"What do you mean 'before'?" said Sakura, "I'd say we did something very stupid already. So stupid it probably means the end of everything as we know it…"

"…Sakura…"

"She's right Doc," said Riya, "We made a mistake. We brought that wretched thing to this world and all because we believed in something that was never real. This world that we lived in has been nothing but cruel to us all our lives since we've been born. We never experienced a mother's love throughout our childhood. We fought endlessly for reasons we couldn't even understand. We acted out against the world, making ourselves look like bad guys who are selfish and uncaring."

"All we ever wanted was a family to call our own," continued Sakura with teary eyes, "A home where we could feel safe in. A set of values that we could believe in. But…all we ever did was run blind into the night making one lousy mistake after the other. We we're so damn naïve that we couldn't see the light. In fact we refused to see it, all for some worthless dream."

"It doesn't matter what we do now," said Riya, "Maria is too powerful. Nothing can destroy her. It's useless to even try…."

"I don't think you two heard me clearly," said Dr. Cannes calling the two's attention, "I said that there is still hope."

"What in heavens name could possibly bring hope to this screwed up situation, Doc?" asked Riya.

"First, let me tell you kids something. There is no such thing as 'no hope'. What do you think got you this far? It wasn't some false ideal that Volkov fed you. It was the hope for something that you both wished for. The hope that you would be able to leave behind your Godforsaken past and move on to a better life. This same hope is shared by all who live on this Earth."

"Why should we hope for? Can't you see that everything we do is useless at this point? What reason is there left for hope?"

"You are still alive, that's what."

"…"

"Hope is synonymous with life. We live every day of our lives with nothing but hope to drive our hearts. Without hope we have no ambition, no purpose, no meaning. Our existence depends on this. If we give up hope, we give up life. You two are still alive. You two still have a future and everything to gain from it. You of all people have the most reason to hold on to hope."

The two siblings contemplated these words for what seemed to be the longest time. Before this moment they were sure that their lives have basically went down the drain. All their ambitions were dead and buried. They were also convincing themselves that any effort to stop Maria would be useless.

Why then would there be any reason to hope? Why did they bother coming back to the city? Did they want to see the Titans somehow win against all odds? Or, did they want to somehow find a way to rectify their mistake? Was it for redemption? Repentance maybe? Or could it be…

"You still have a future, children…" said Dr. Cannes, "…You still have a choice."

For a while no-one said anything. Riya and Sakura were looking at each other, contemplating their options. Though they said nothing, something was definitely shared between the two. Then they looked back down onto the ground with forlorn gazes, silently contemplating

Riya eventually broke the silence. "You know…I've always wanted to try a Pepsi."

Dr. Cannes raised an eyebrow. Similarly, Sakura stared up to her brother with a very curious gaze.

"They wouldn't let us have any in the facility," continued Riya, "And we were so busy helping out Dr. Volkov that we were only able to eat rations and water. But every time we went out on a mission I always saw these ads everywhere about how Pepsi taste so good. I've always wanted try one out, even if just once."

"…yeah," said Sakura, "I think I'd like to try one too…"

"But if Maria continues on like this, we'll never be able to try one…"

Riya looked back towards the city, towards the fighting. Then he looked back towards Dr. Cannes with a soft smile.

"…What can we do?" asked Riya

Dr Cannes actually smiled at this. "I'm glad you see it this way. This may be a chance for you two to regain what you have lost, or at least build a better future for yourselves, You've made the right choice."

"If ever could redeem ourselves, we'd gladly take the chance," said Sakura, "All our lives, we knew only how to fight. It's time we put that to good use and fight for something worth fighting for."

"Although…" said Riya, "Maria won't go down easy. Unless you have some kind of miracle weapon, were only going up a creek without a paddle, or a canoe for that matter."

"Actually I do," said Dr. Cannes, lifting up his right arm.

For some reason, it was only now that Riya and Sakura noticed that Dr. Cannes was actually carrying a large metal briefcase. They both eye it curiously having no idea what could possibly be inside. Was that the so-called 'hope' that Cannes was boasting about?

Cannes knelt down and gently placed the briefcase on the ground. The siblings moved in closer and knelt down themselves to get the best view of the thing. Dr. Cannes unlocked the two locks on either side of the handle. He opened it and laid it flat on the ground. Riya and Sakura observed the contents.

Inside the briefcase, held in place by a protective foam padding, were a small metal cylinder and what looked like a handgun of some sort plus a small empty dart. The siblings didn't know what it was they were looking at so they looked at someone who probably did, namely the Doctor. Cannes heard their silent inquiry.

"Volkov probably never told you this but this isn't the first time the induction process was successful in bringing a clone of Maria to life."

The siblings' eyes grew wide.

"Seven years ago, Volkov successfully, albeit illegally, performed the induction process and made a clone of Maria just like today. And just like today, Maria wreaked havoc upon the facility in which she was resurrected from. The whole facility turned into ruble overnight. Luckily we we're able to defeat her but lost a few good men in the process, sadly."

"How did you defeat her?" inquired Riya. "She is supposed to be indestructible."

"Yes, but not against her own power."

"…?"

Cannes reached into the suit case and pulled out the small metal cylinder. He carefully unscrewed the top and slowly pulled out a glass out of the metal case. The glass cylinder was filled with a blue liquid of some sort. The siblings eye it curiously then looked back at Dr. Cannes.

"From the start of the project," continued Cannes, "I knew Maria posed a significant threat. So I decided to personally find a countermeasure incase something like this ever happened. I personally oversaw the development of this to make sure we had a fighting chance against her."

"What is it?" asked Sakura.

"It's a virus. Genetically engineered based on Maria's genome. Since we knew she would be invulnerable to modern weaponry we came up with this to kill her from the inside out. This virus specifically hunts down her genome and devastates it while being completely harmless to everything else. Once this gets into her system it will break down her body from the genetic level so that means she won't be able to counter it. This is the weapon we used to beat her back then and this is the only chance we have now of saving this city."

Cannes reached into the briefcase and pulled out the dart. He opened up one end and inserted the glass cylinder with the blue colored virus. Then he reached into the briefcase again and pulled out the handgun. He opened up the barrel and inserted the dart then brought down the barrel to lock it in place. Effectively, he has loaded the handgun with the dart that contains the virus, after which he handed the gun over to Riya who took it with moderate hesitation.

"This is the last sample of the virus I have," said Cannes, "You mustn't waste it."

"Okay," said Riya while placing the handgun in his holster where his .45 would be if he had it, "We understand. Once we get close enough we'll just shoot this at her and--"

"No, it can't be just anywhere on her body. We tried that before but her skin is impregnable with this weapon."

"What?… then how did you--?"

"Did you two notice the yellow colored crystalline growth just bellow her neck?"

They both nodded.

"That's her only weak point. You must make sure that you hit her with the virus there and only there. Any other spot would only waste our chances."

The two stand up. They both look towards the city. Over the buildings they could see the Titans desperately fighting Maria against all hope. It made them wonder. If this can really be their one true hope in this situation. If they still have a chance for redemption. They turned their sight away and looked at each other, again silently communicating. They knew the answer was: yes. They seem to have reached that agreement as Dr. Cannes stands up.

"We'll do our best," they both said simultaneously.

"I'm glad you children finally see the light," said Dr. Cannes.

"It was always there," said Riya, "We just never wanted to see it. Until now."

Riya then walked towards the powerboat still docked on the port. He walked with a renewed determination. He hopped onto the boat but didn't restart the engine. Instead he reached behind the two seats and retrieved two large plastic cases. He hopped off the powerboat and onto the port then briskly walked to rejoin Sakura and Cannes. When he reached them, Riya lowered one case in front of Sakura and lowered the other at his own feet.

"This will be the final battle," said Riya opening his case to reveal a bunch of gun parts.

"The battle for our existence," said Sakura opening her case to reveal two Japanese Swords.

Riya quickly took the parts of the gun and assembled them with the ease from years of experience. Sakura took the sheathed swords and tied it around her belt, one sword on either side of her waist. She quickly drew both swords, twirled them around skillfully, and then quickly sheathed them again. She grinned slightly.

"This will decide, once and for all…" said Riya finishing up on his work, "…what our future will be."

Once he finished, he held up his new weapon: a large 10mm anti-tank rifle. The rifle was over six feet long and it was a pretty impressive sight to see Riya actually carrying it single-handedly. He loaded a clip full of explosive 10mm rounds. He lifted the whole rifle up and slung it onto his back.

"For our future…" said Sakura.

"For this world…" said Riya.

Behind the two siblings, Dr. Cannes gave a soft smile.

------------------------------------------------

Back near the center of the city.

Cyborg was running parallel Maria as she was flying down the metro highway. Cyborg had his arm transformed into a sonic cannon and was continually firing at Maria's figure. She all but ignored his lame attempts to damage her, still he was an annoyance. She readied her giant blade of an arm to be swung down on top of Cyborg.

Cyborg saw this and knew he had to back away. Maria swung down her heavy blade arm towards Cyborg. The metallic titan managed to dive out of the way as the heavy blade slashed into the building he was standing on. The blade dug deep into the top floor and threw up a lot of debris in the process. Cyborg continued to run away so that he may be able to find a better point of attack.

While Maria was in the process of lifting her huge blade arm from the building, Starfire came swooping down on top of Maria, throwing starbolts at her defenseless back area. Maria seemed to hardly feel the attack and she gave her blade arm one final yank. It popped off the building and swung wildly in a wide arc. The blade swung all the way around and nearly slashed into Starfire who gave a quick "Eek!" and managed to dive low and out of the way.

Starfire recovered her flight and flew up above Maria. Maria turned around to face the Tamaranian princess. Starfire wasted no time in dealing more of her starbolts in Maria's direction. The barrage of starbolts pelted Maria in green explosive energy and she block most of the attack with the broad side of her blade arm.

Then with her free arm, Maria formed a sphere of energy which she readily hurled towards Starfire. Starfire gave another "Eek!" and dove out of the way letting the energy sphere fly straight into the building behind her and explode in a brilliant white fireball. Starfire flew away clear of Maria's range of attack.

Maria's sight followed the retreating titan and she looked like she was meaning to pursue but a squall from behind her distracted her and Made her look back. Coming from behind her, Beast Boy flew in as a Pterodactyl once again. Maria quickly formed a bunch of energy spheres and directed them towards Beast Boy. The green Titan managed to weave in and out of the barrage of energy spheres without much trouble then flew up above Maria.

Once he determined he was high enough he folded his wings back and began a dive towards. Maria looked as if she was going to prepare another volley of energy spheres before she was taken by surprised by Beast Boy who, in mid-dive, transformed into a ten ton triceratops. The three horned green dinosaur came down on Maria like a prehistoric bomb. Maria acted quickly and brought up her blade arm by the broad side. Beast Boy collided with Maria's blade arm pretty hard and actually managed to bring her down to the street.

Maria was almost one on knee by the time she and Beast Boy came to a complete stop. Then in an amazing feat of strength, Maria swung out her blade arm and shoved Beast Boy back up into the air flailing madly. Beast Boy managed to regain his composure and transform into a sparrow and flew away to safety. Maria meant to follow but she was again distracted, this time by a car horn.

Maria looked to the side and found a SUV flying straight towards her face. The impact caused her to tilt her head back in pain. She tilted her head back down to see Raven holding a few cars in the air using her dark powers of telekinesis. Raven didn't wait for Maria to recover but instead threw all the cars she held in the air one after the other without pause. Maria was bombarded with a storm of automobiles and her body bucked, bent, and convulsed with every impact, though she didn't seem in pain

Maria managed to stand her ground as Raven continued her barrage. Suddenly, Maria manages to actually catch one of the flying cars in her free hand. Raven was taken aback. Maria crushed the Vehicle in her hand then dropped it to the ground. Maria then proceeded to gather energy into three spheres of energy then direct them towards Raven. Raven acted quickly to form a black shield which absorbed the attack.

Maria was preparing to throw another barrage of energy spheres. Raven knew she had to act quickly. Raven looked around her for anything she could use. She saw something behind her and decided to go with it.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted.

With her awesome powers Raven lifted a huge gas tanker truck, still full of petrol, and hurled it straight towards Maria. Maria saw this and quickly abandoned her energy gathering. Maria swung up her blade arm. Just as the tanker truck was about to impact her, Maria swung down her heavy blade arm onto the tanker truck. The result was a huge explosion accompanied by a brilliant fireball. The shockwave caught Raven by surprise and shoved her to the ground.

"Oof!"

Raven landed on her butt. She groaned as she tried to get back up. She looked up only to see that Maria was almost upon her ready to swing down her mighty blade. Raven looked up nervously.

Maria was about to bring down her blade when a projectile of some sort exploded upon impacting with her face. Maria lost her concentration on Raven allowing the girl to teleport to safety. Maria looked in the direction where she thought the projectile came from. She saw Robin holding ready a fan of birdarangs while perched on a low building. He was close to where Maria. Maria noticed this fact and took advantage of the close range by stabbing her blade arm towards Robin's position. The boy wonder noticed and quickly jumped out of the way.

Maria's blade arm embedded itself deep in the buildings structure so she wasn't able to pull it out as quickly as she would hope to. Robin leapt down and took advantage of the situation. He glided towards Maria's head and threw an explosive disk in Maria's face. The impact caused her to tilt her head back in pain. Robin quickly pulled out a grappling hook and fired at Maria's neck. The grappling hook latched itself around Maria's neck.

Robin held onto the other end of the line tightly as he proceeded to glide around Maria once, twice, three times, four, five, six times total, wrapping the grappling wire nice and tight around Maria's neck like a noose. Robin then glided down to street level. There he was joined by Cyborg and Beast Boy. Together, the three boys held onto the wire (Beast Boy transforming into a gorilla to help) and pulled down hard.

Maria found herself being pulled down by the neck painfully choking. The three Titans bellow gave it all their strength to pull her massive figure down. Maria was almost struggling to stay on her feet.

From above, Raven and Starfire float over Maria's struggling figure. They assisted the three boys below by pelting Maria with their own aerial attack. Starfire fired volley after volley of starbolts and Raven fired off black lightning from her hands.

Being attacked from both sides, Maria found it harder and harder to maintain her composure. How she stayed on her feet at all was already an amazing feat. Above all else she was getting extremely irritated. The Titans were insects compared to her and she was having a harder time taking care of them as she had expected.

Maria decided to pullout all the stops at that point. She concentrated a lot of energy into her wings which caused the wings to glow doubly brighter. Then in one great burst of energy, Maria propelled herself straight up. The Titans were taken by surprise and had no time to react. The boys were yanked up into the sky along with Maria and the girls were nearly bulldozed by Maria's upward charge.

Robin, Beast Boy and Cyborg eventually let go of the grappling wire. It turned out to be not such a good idea considering they were about a quarter of a mile into the air at that moment. They fell to earth like a sack full of batteries. They flailed around trying to orient themselves.

Below, Raven and Starfire recover and notice the boys' plight. They immediately flew up to assist. They reached the boys soon enough and began the rescue. Raven caught Beast Boy and Cyborg in two black bubbles of dark magic while Starfire caught Robin by the shoulders. They then flew down to a nearby rooftop and settled down.

Just as they were catching their breath, the Titans noticed Maria looming over them from the side. The Titans were too shaken up to act immediately. Maria had no evident emotion on her face but it could be surmised that she was particularly pissed off right about now. The Titans knew this so they were understandably worried.

"INSOLENT INSECTS!" said Maria as she lifted her huge blade arm.

She didn't bring down the blade arm immediately but gathered energy around it instead. The Titans knew where this was going and it was gonna be anything but good. Raven bravely stepped forwards and looked as if she was about to create a black shield of protection though she knew it wouldn't hold out much. Maria was about to bring down her blade arm when…

_**BANG!**_

A really powerful bullet impacted Maria right on the cheek. The impact was instantly followed by a powerful explosion was powerful enough to almost break her neck and also made loose her concentration along with the energy she gathered on her blade arm.

"ARGH!"

The Titans were equally surprised at this turn of events. They looked to the side to where the shot had come from and so did Maria. They saw Arsenic, holding a large, smoking, anti-tank rifle in his arms, aimed at Maria. The Titans wore a surprised look on their faces. Maria on the other hand was practically fuming. She ignored the Titans and charged Arsenic where he was perched.

Arsenic didn't move from is spot. As Maria approached him and became increasingly closer, another figure leapt from behind Arsenic into the air towards Maria. The figure was holding two Japanese swords. Maria couldn't react in time. The figure quick slashed at Maria as they met then quickly leapt off Maria's body with a good kick.

"DAH!"

The figure landed on a nearby rooftop. Maria and the Titans got their first good look at who it was. It was Lithium holding two Japanese swords at ready. Again the Titans looked surprised but Maria stayed pissed. Immediately she attacked in anger at Lithium by swinging down her blade arm hard. Lithium stared up emotionlessly. As the blade came down on her, she quickly sidestepped out of the way. The blade missed Lithium by inches.

The blade was lodged into the building rooftop. Lithium wasted no time. Lithium jumped up onto the blade and ran up to Maria's shoulder. There she perched herself and began to relentlessly slash away at Maria's head and neck. Maria twisted her head in pain from the cuts. Maria quickly reached out her other arm to try and grab Lithium and throw her away. Lithium noticed early and leapt of by herself onto another rooftop and Maria grabbed nothing but empty air.

Meanwhile, Arsenic was aiming again his rifle. He pulled the trigger and the rifle sounded off an awfully loud bang. The bullet impacted Maria on the shoulder which caused her to shriek. The following explosion was enough to push her back and actually dislodge the arm blade that was lodged into the rooftop.

Maria quickly made a counter-attack. She formed a sphere oh energy and hurled it in Arsenic's direction. Arsenic did not stick around but quickly slung his rifle despite its weight and ran to the side. The sphere impacted missing Arsenic by a large margin. Arsenic leapt off to another building and perched on the rooftop.

Maria was about to attack. The Titans decided to act then and there. The took advantage of the fact that Maria had her back to them. Raven and Starfire flew up and began to shot starbolts and black lightning towards Maria's vulnerable backside. Cyborg joined in by shooting at Maria's back with his sonic cannon. Maria was taken by surprised and convulsed in unusual ways in apparent hurt.

"AAAHH!"

Maria quickly turned around to confront the Titans but only saw the three that attacked her. Robin and Beast Boy were already on another rooftop nearby. Robin began to toss explosive birdarangs in Maria's direction. The explosive impacts called for Maria's attention. By the time Maria was looking in their direction. Beast Boy had already leapt off the rooftop as a veloceraptor and clawed at Maria's chest.

Maria flailed around in pain while she tried to reach out and grab Beast Boy. Beast Boy leapt of just in time before Maria could get a hand on him. He transformed into an eagle and flew off. Maria was about to launch an energy sphere towards the animorph when she was distracted by another attack from the side.

Lithium had again leapt off from a rooftop towards Maria and quickly did another quick slash-and-leap attack on her side. Maria tried to grab her but Lithium had already leapt off and landed on another rooftop which was coincidentally the same rooftop Robin was on and landed right next to the Titan leader.

Lithium got up then looked at Robin. Robin looked back at Lithium with a partially intense glare. For a while they didn't do anything. Lithium then gave Robin a nod. Robin did nothing for a while but eventually he returned the nod with one of his own. They seemed to have come to an agreement. Beside the rooftop, Maria loomed over them both. Lithium readied her sword while Robin reached into his belt and pulled out his bo staff.

Maria attacked them by swinging down her blade arm down on them. Robin and Lithium split up by jumping away from each other and the path of the blade. Maria missed them both and only got her blade stuck again on the building. Robin and Lithium didn't waste the opportunity. They both ran up the blade towards Maria's head. Lithium slashed away while Robin swung his staff smacking into several sensitive places.

"NYAA!"

Robin and Lithium both leapt off and landed on separate rooftops. As Maria finally dislodged her blade arm from the roof, Raven attacked by throwing a large water tank towards Maria using her telekinetic powers. The impact made a bigger splash rather than a crash. Maria ended up soaking wet much to her annoyance like most other things around her.

Robin took advantage of this and used a couple of freeze disk to throw at Maria. Upon impact, the freeze disks actually flash froze the water from the tank Raven used seconds ago, freezing Maria's entire body solid as arctic ice. It would probably take her about half a minute to brake out of her frozen encasement but she wasn't given the opportunity.

Cyborg and Starfire prepared to attack quickly by launching a sonic blast and a volley of starbolts. The impact prematurely freed Maria but at the same time hurting her and forcing her back a short distance. Maria quickly recovered and was already preparing a counterattack. Maria quickly gathered energy into a large sphere.

Cyborg and Starfire naturally got nervous. Suddenly from behind the two Titans a small object was tossed up at Maria. It was going too fast for the Titans to see what it was and Maria was the first to get a real good look at it just as she was about to release the energy sphere. The small object turned out to be a hand grenade. The grenade blew up in Maria's face which caused her to loose her attack and to clutch her face with a hand.

"YAAARGH!"

Cyborg and Starfire looked behind them to see who had tossed the grenade. It was Arsenic. They all stood there for a few moments doing nothing. Eventually, Arsenic grinned and gave a casual salute with only two fingers. The two Titans seemed to calm a bit and took the gesture as a sign of friendliness. Arsenic walked up to them and took position in-between the two Titans.

Maria had recovered at that point and was preparing another attack. On the rooftop, Arsenic readied his rifle while taking a kneeling position. Starfire and Cyborg took this as some kind of cue and prepared themselves, Starfire charging a particularly powerful starbolt and Cyborg powering-up his sonic cannon. Maria was about to attack. The three waited for the right moment to strike.

Maria had gathered enough energy into a volley of energy spheres and showed that she was about to release them. It was the opportune moment the three have been waiting for. All at the same time, Arsenic, Starfire, and Cyborg fired their respective munitions. All of the shots hit Maria dead in the face which caused her considerable pain and forced her to fly backwards and crash into a building behind her.

For a while it looked as if Maria was down for the count. Soon enough though, Maria was already launching herself from the building which she crashed into and flew towards the rooftop where Arsenic, Starfire and Cyborg were perched, glowing blade arm first. Starfire quickly flew upwards as Arsenic and Cyborg jumped towards either side just in time to avoid being skewered.

"BOTHERSOME INSECTS!" said Maria as she forcibly yanked out her blade from the building, "YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST I TURN TO ASH!"

Maria raised her hand and gathered a large amount of energy above her, formed it into a large sphere, and launched it into the air. In the middle of the air, the large sphere exploded into a dozen or so smaller spheres of energy which rained down onto the area around Maria. The Titans along with the two siblings found themselves jumping around in random direction as they are bombarded with energy spheres.

There were explosions on rooftops all over the place and even some on street level. The explosions kicked up a whole lot of smoke and debris into the air fogging the area and impairing vision. Maria searched her surroundings and found no trace of any of the seven teenagers yet. But she found one soon enough. Three large air-conditioning units, surrounded in black energy, suddenly emerged from the smoke flying towards her. They impacted Maria on the chest and broke apart into a million pieces of scrap.

"ARGH!"

The smoke and dust settle down and Maria found Raven and Starfire floating near her. Maria swings her blade arm at them in anger. She misses as the two girls fly away in separate direction, Starfire firing starbolts towards Maria in the process. Maria ignores the starbolts and gave chase to Starfire as she fleed and continued to pelt Maria in Tamaranian energy.

On several other rooftops, the rest of the group collectively recovered and began to give chase to the fleeing figures of Maria and Starfire as they saw the scene take place. Beast Boy flew into the air as a hawk and flew along side Raven while Cyborg and Lithium jumped from building to building, all ready to take the fight to its highest ends.

------------------------------------------------

On another rooftop.

Robin was just recovering himself. A sphere of energy that landed uncomfortably close to him a little while back managed to knock him on his back for a few moments. He was groggily getting up when a hand was offered to him. Robin looked curiously at the hand and looked up to see who was the owner. It was Arsenic.

"Need a hand?" asked Arsenic sounding as friendly as possible.

Robin looked at him for moment of hesitation. Here was probably one of the most tenacious foes that he and the Titans have faced in a long time and now here he was offering a hand to him. But only a few minutes ago he and his sister probably saved his and the Titan's lives or at least a really expensive hospital bill. Well, this day had been filled with one crazy happening after another. What the heck, right?

Robin took the hand and Arsenic pulled the boy wonder to his feet. Robin did a primary survey of himself to see if had sustained anything serious but seemed satisfied that he hadn't. He brushed himself off and looked back at Arsenic who was standing there patiently waiting for Robin's attention.

"Thanks," said Robin.

"No problem," said Arsenic.

"Glad to see you guys managed to get out of that disaster out at sea. We actually thought you guys were goners for sure."

"The feeling's mutual, believe me."

"Heh, I bet. I'm also glad you decided to join the party. Although I can't say it will amount to much in the long run. Maria, she's practically invulnerable, you know."

"We know that, but that doesn't mean we should give up on hope just yet."

"…?"

"You're right when you say there's no beating her like this. She can't be destroyed with just brute force. If we do, she'll just continue to evolve into something that can take whatever we throw at her. That's what makes her so powerful. But there is a way to defeat her. You just have to know what you need and how to use it."

"I like where you are going with this… What have you got for us?"

Arsenic smirked and drew out the handgun in his holster. "This is what we need."

"What is it exactly and where did you get it?"

"Fortunately for us, we still have a good friend who's willing to help. Cannes gave it to me. We mat at the docks a little while back. He told about how Maria was reborn before. He had to use this on her as well. It was the only thing that could defeat her."

"Cannes… somehow I would have guessed. If it's from him then I guess we could trust it. Now tell me how are we suppose to use it to defeat Maria."

Arsenic opened up the handgun to show Robin the contents of the thing. He then proceeded to quickly explain the things that Cannes had told him, how the virus was created and how to use it properly. Robin got the message pretty quickly and knew what he had to do. A ray of hope has finally revealed itself and to Robin it couldn't have come any sooner.

"Alright, we'll do our best to give you a good shot."

"Good. Hopefully, this will work as it's suppose to. This is probably the last chance we have of doing anything to stop her. We must finish this tonight."

Arsenic held his rifle and turned around to jump away.

"Wait!" called out Robin, "are you sure you guys really want to do this. After all, isn't Maria your…"

"…No, she's not," said Arsenic, "Now we are sure she is not, and she never was."

"…"

"It was just a false dream we have been chasing throughout all this time and because we have been to blind to see the light, this city of yours and it's people are the ones paying the price. We never wanted things to end this way, we never wanted anybody to get hurt. Now all that's left for us is…"

"…hey…"

"Robin, please don't deny us our last chance for redemption. Let us have that at least."

Robin walked up top Arsenic and planted a hand on his shoulder.

"Agree," said Robin, "Let's work together to end this here. Who knows? There might be a happy ending in here somewhere for the both of you."

Arsenic smirked at Robin. "Yeah, who knows?"

They nodded at each other. Arsenic leapt off the rooftop first and jumped from building to building after the battle. Robin reached into his utility belt and pulled out his communicator.

"Titans, new plan…"

------------------------------------------------

In the middle of the city.

Beast Boy was flying circles around Maria as a pterodactyl again. Maria was relentlessly swinging her blade arm trying to swat the annoying animorph but was not having much luck in doing so. Beast Boy swooped in close every now and then scratching Maria with his talons. Maria then got lucky as Beast Boy cam close one last time and she managed to grab him in her hand.

Beast Boy struggled to get free. Maria began to squeeze even tighter. On a rooftop to the side, Lithium leapt off towards Maria and landed on Maria's shoulder. She slashed away with her twin swords at Maria's arm which caused Maria to let go of Beast Boy who flew away to a safer distance.

Lithium continued to slash away until Maria tried to grab Lithium. Lithium leapt off but as soon as she was in the air Maria swung her blade arm at Lithium. Lithium reacted out of instinct and blocked with her two swords. The three blades made a huge 'clang' and caused Lithium to flail around in the air, out of control.

Raven came to her rescue. Raven formed a wide platform of black energy where Lithium managed to land on and reoriented herself. Maria prepared spheres of energy around herself and fired them upon the two girls. Raven used her free arm to create a shield to protect herself and Lithium. The shield held, blocking Maria's attack effectively.

Behind Maria, Starfire flew up with glowing green eyes. Starfire let loose a optic stream of energy down Maria's spine between her wings. Needles to say, that was far from pleasant for Maria who immediately turned around to acknowledge Starfire. Maria swung out her blade to try and swat Starfire but the Tamaranian girl was quick enough to dodge and charge in with a powered-up punch to the stomach.

"UUGH!"

Then to finish the combo, Starfire flew up to Maria's face and gave her a powered-up uppercut to the chin.

"DAAH!"

Starfire flew all the way up and when she was high enough. She looked down and charged a volley of Starbolts that she rained down on Maria, pelting her large figure.

"AARGH!"

On a nearby rooftop, Cyborg had taken a firm stand. He locked onto Maria with his cybernetic eye and opened both shoulder pads of his to reveal a volley of six missiles. He launched them and they all headed towards Maria. The missiles made impact all at the same time causing Maria to convulse in pain. Maria quickly recovered however and quickly threw a sphere of energy towards Cyborg. The metal Titan quickly jumped over to the next rooftop to evade.

In the explosion that followed, Beast Boy flew in as an eagle which dive bombed Maria from the back. In mid-dive, Beast Boy transformed into a T-rex. Only then did Maria actually notice something behind her but by then it was already too late to react. The green T-rex flipped forwards doing a complete summersault and Hitting Maria with his tail.

"AAAH!"

Maria was forced to go down. She crashed onto street level where the Beast Boy also landed just a couple dozen meters away from her. Beast Boy gave out a large roar to challenge Maria who was just groggily recovering. Coincidentally The road they were on was actually on the edge of the river and behind Maria was Jump City's famous Suspension Bridge.

Beast Boy wasted no time and began his charge, causing a small quake with every gigantic step he took on the street. This seemed to quicken Maria's recovery as she was able to stand up and swing sideways her blade arm as Beast Boy came close. It missed and amazingly enough, Beast Boy managed to actually catch the offensive blade in his massive jaws.

Beast Boy's gigantic jaw clamed down on the blade like a vice, refusing to let go. Maria did her best to struggle and free the blade from Beast Boy's jaws but wasn't having much luck. The rest of the Titans didn't waste This opportunity. Raven, Starfire and Cyborg gathered next to Beast Boy and pelted Maria with almost everything they got.

"ARGH!"

The attack managed to stun Maria for a short while and Beast Boy took his cue. Beast Boy let go of the blade arm which fell limply, then quickly did a one-eighty and smacked Maria with his mighty tail. Maria was sent flying involuntarily to the middle of the suspension bridge. There she crashed into a heap and kicked up a cloud of dust.

Beast Boy transformed back into his elfin form and settled down on the street along with Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and even Lithium. A while later, the last two boys, Robin and Arsenic, came running up to join them. They all watched as Maria slowly get back up to her feet in the middle of the bridge.

"Everybody know the new plan?" asked Robin.

Everyone there nodded their head. Arsenic and Lithium knew the plan first hand and the Titans received the plan from Robin via the communicators just a little while ago.

"Then let's all go and end this once and for all."

Again they all nodded. Robin then looked to the side to where Arsenic and Lithium were standing next to each other.

"I'm glad we're able to fight together like this," Robin said to them.

"Yes, I too am very thankful for you assistance as well," said Starfire, "It is a great honor to be able to fight alongside you as comrades."

"Yeah, you guys kick butt!" said Beast Boy, "Too bad we can't work together like this all the time."

"Still, I'm glad y'all finally showed your true colors," said Cyborg, "I never believed you two to be all that bad anyways. Really!"

"Azar knows, we would never be able to survive this fight without you," said Raven. "Thank you for bringing us hope."

There was something about that last line that made the two siblings smile a bit.

"Thanks…" said Arsenic, "But we owe you as much anyways."

"It's the least we could do," said Lithium, "After all the stuff we put you and the city through. This is, as we see it, our personal way of redeeming ourselves, for the mistakes we made."

"Making mistakes as a fact of life," said Robin, "How strong you are is determined by how much you are willing to give to learn from and rectify your mistakes. I truly admire you two for the strength you have exhibited throughout all this time. And because of that, I believe there is truly a better future for the both of you waiting past the sunrise."

They all looked at each other with approved smiles. Arsenic and Lithium gave satisfied nods of thanks to the Titans who eagerly return them.

In the distance, Maria's deafening shriek was heard. The Titans and the siblings looked towards the center of the bridge. Maria has finally recovered and was standing in all her glory. She looked as if the glowing aura around her has partially increased in brightness. The seven teens looked on.

"Let's finish this," said Arsenic while cocking his rifle.

"Yes, let's," said Robin in response, "Titans, GO!"

------------------------------------------------

In the middle of the suspension bridge.

Maria was fully recovered by then and was simply waiting on the attack of the Titans and the two siblings. They have all proven themselves very big annoyances. But she knew it didn't matter. No matter how much pain they deal to her, she can return it tenfold. She will fulfill her destiny of destroying this world but she will make sure to start with these seven children first.

Raven was the first to show up. Raven did a quick survey of the filed and found a lot of stuff she could use. Maria attacked by throwing a volley of energy spheres first. Raven swerved around them evading them with relative ease. Then she starched out her arms and chanted her famous magic incantation.

"Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Streams of black energy stemmed forth from Raven's body and picked up a bunch of abandoned cars that were resting on the bridge. She immediately hurled them towards Maria who blocked the incoming attack with the broad side of her blade arm. The cars exploded with every impact. Maria couldn't see because her blade arm was in front of her face.

After she felt the last car, Maria steadily lowered her blade arm. She was immediately greeted by the sight of Starfire charging at her, green glowing fist first. Starfire came crashing into Maria's face at practically the speed of sound. Maria's head was tilted far back as she yelped in pain.

"ARGH!"

Cyborg ran up from the ground and transformed his arm into a sonic cannon. He aimed his cannon at Maria's leg and fired. The blast hit the shin as planned and caused the leg to fly backwards. Maria fell on one knee.

Beast Boy charged in as a T-rex again, head-butting with the force of a wrecking ball. Maria flew backwards and fell on her back. Beast Boy gave a victorious roar though a little early. Maria, now really pissed off, Quickly recovered by concentrating most of her energy on her wings. She propelled herself upwards and quickly reoriented herself.

Maria looked down on Beast Boy with murder in her eyes. Beast Boy sweatdropped. Maria formed a volley of energy spheres which she rained down on Beast Boy. The animorph quickly transformed into a sparrow and weaved through the fire and out into safety.

From one of the maintenance platforms on the bridge's tower, Arsenic lied down on his chest in a prone firing position with his rifle. Above him on a hire platform, Robin held ready an explosive disk. Robin was the first to act by tossing his disk towards Maria. It made impact close to her neckline and Maria was visibly hurt. Maria turned her attention to the boy wonder. Arsenic took this as his cue and fired on the crystalline growth below Maria's neckline. The bullet impacted and exploded. Maria shrieked in pain.

"AAARGH!"

the crystalline growth on her chest was broken. It began to bleed profusely with a mercury like liquid that glowed white. Now everyone could see a brightly pulsing red organ inside. Maria was convulsing in pain and seemed as if she was in some kind of shock. That gave the teens the time they needed.

"That's our target," said Robin.

"Let's start the plan then," said Arsenic. He began waving his arm towards the other tower on the far side of the road.

On the other tower, Lithium saw the signal and knew what she had to do. She hopped down her perch and began to run down the main suspension line. As she traveled she slashed away at large metal binders. The binders broke and released the more thinner suspension cables below the thick main one.

Similarly on the other side, Cyborg had gotten on the main cable from bellow and started running up. On his way up, he destroyed the binders with his sonic cannon aimed down, releasing a bunch of suspension cables.

"Alright, we're ready to go then," said Robin into his communicator, "Starfire, Raven, Beast Boy, you guys are up."

The three said Titans formed up above the scene, Beast Boy as a pterodactyl again to help. The separated and they knew their roles. The all flew down towards the mangled suspension wires the were sprawled all over the street The picked them up collectively, Raven with her powers, Beast Boy with his talons, and Starfire with her bare hands.

With cable in hand, the three Titans flew circles around Maria's hapless figure. The flew in and out, in-between her arms and legs and around her body wrapping the cable around and around, tightening it as the go Using the cable that was trailing them, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy tied Maria to the ground by her arms, legs, waist, shoulders, just about her whole body was wrapped in cable.

Starfire and Beast Boy landed and were soon joined by Cyborg. Beast Boy transformed into an elephant and grabbed a trunk-full of cable. Cyborg and Starfire similarly grabbed handfuls of cable and pulled down hard effectively holding down Maria as the did with Robin's grappling hook before, only this time with way more leverage.

Maria was tied down to the street like a circus tent. She couldn't move, let alone defend herself. She was still recovering her energy and she couldn't summon the strength to break free yet. This was an opportune moment for the plan to take its full effect.

"Looks like I'm up," Arsenic said as he got up from his prone position and simply left his rifle there. He hopped down the tower and onto a maintenance bridge that connected the two sides of the tower ten stories from the street. Arsenic took out from the holster his special handgun with the viral dart and prepared to take his shot.

He took a quick moment to asses the shot he was about to take. Distance: about a hundred yards. Wind speed: about thirty kilometers per hour to the west. Target: minimal movement with an area of about twenty square feet. All in all, an easy shot.

He aimed his pistol carefully placing all the angles and considering all the factors. He had proper aim. Now just concentrate. Focus on the target, don't let anything distract the aim. Finally, just slowly squeex the trigger…

_**SNAP!**_

One of the cables breaks apart from all the stress put on it. It broke off and swung wildly in the air. It then came whipping down on Arsenic's position. Arsenic noticed in too late a time and was not able to react enough. The free swinging cable whipped the hapless teenager off the maintenance bridge and sent him falling to the pavement. Arsenic fell ten stories down to the ground and the only thing that cushioned his fall was an abandoned station wagon which he totally flattened.

"Aaaargh!"

"Riya!" screamed out Lithium as she hopped down the main suspension cable and Rushed to her brother's side. Robin also came down with the assistance of Raven and her telekinetic powers. They all reached him at about the same time. They saw that the care was a total wreck and Arsenic was on his back and clutching his right arm.

"Thank God for air bags, huh?" he said.

"Are you alright!" asked Robin.

"No, I'm not. My right arm is broken at the wrist."

Lithium did a quick survey of her brother and found no other serious injuries but she did find that one thing was missing.

"Hey, where's the virus!" she asked.

Arsenic lifted his arm to point to the side. Raven followed it and spotted the handgun just a few feet away. She summoned it using her telekinetic powers and quickly handed it over to Robin. Robin examined it as best as he could. He didn't seem satisfied.

"What's wrong?" inquired Arsenic.

"This isn't good," said Robin, "The dart seems fine and none of the fluid leaked out but this gun in totally wrecked. It's useless. We have to find another way to deliver the Virus."

In the distance Maria shrieks. Beast Boy in his elephant form let out a trumpet sound. A couple of more cables snapped and swung wildly. The three Titans holding on were visibly straining.

"Can y'all hurry it up!" yelled out Cyborg, "I don't know how much longer we can hold on over here!"

Robin looked back at Arsenic who gave a nod. Robin nodded back. Robin then took apart the broken hand gun to retrieve the viral dart inside. Then he took his bo staff and extended it to its full length. He took some wire from his utility belt and tied the dart to the end of the staff like a spear head. He double checked his work and seemed satisfied with the end product.

"We'll be back for you," said Robin.

"We're not going anywhere…" said Arsenic.

"I'll stay with him," said Lithium.

With that everyone gave a last nod. Robin and Raven were off. They rushed towards the scene of their three friends struggling to keep hold of the ropes. Raven helped by floating above the rest of the team and wrapping the ropes in her black energy and helped hold them down. Robin continued his run holding the bo staff, tipped with the viral dart, like a javelin.

Robin reared up, sighted his target, and launched the staff like a javelin into the air. The viral tipped staff flew through the air like a missile, straight and true. It soon found its target in the center of Maria's chest just below the neckline. If Maria didn't already have bug eyes, she would have gone bug eyed.

On a microscopic level, the virus immediately began spreading. The virus divided at an exponential rate invading the whole of Maria's body in under a minute. The individual viruses started burrowing into the normal cells around them. Once inside, the virus caused their host cell to spontaneously produce an overload of energy. The cells almost immediately went into a total meltdown and combusted.

Maria was convulsing in unimaginable ways, as if her entire body was burning from the inside out, and it really was. The Titans let go of the cables allowing Maria to shake herself free and float off into the air. All the while she continued to clutch herself and constantly shriek in pain. Her body was glowing doubly brighter by the second. The seven teens below watched in awe.

She was already a couple of stories above the highest point of the bridge when her skin spontaneously combusted. Her body was completely engulfed in a brilliant blue flame. She was writhing in agon and continued to shriek hysterically.

"IMPOSSIBLE! I CANNOT BE DEFFEATED!"

She could feel her body reaching its absolute limit. And then it was the end for her

"NOOOOOOOO----!"

In a great flash of light and a deafening crack, her entire body exploded from within. Her carcass completely disintegrated into nothingness. The flash of light was enough to momentarily turn night into day, and the loud crack of the shockwave could be heard miles away. The Titans and the two siblings covered their eyes and ears until everything subsided.

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A little later in the night, at the Jump City suspension bridge.

It was raining. Not a really bad, thunder storm type rain, just a gentle shower that washed over the city. The thunder storm stopped and there was no longer any sound of lightning or thunder. All that was left was the gentle rain. By then the place was surrounded with cop cars and had six or seven helicopters overhead, some police, others are from the media. Near the center of the bridge Robin was walking to a nearby ambulance.

Seated on the ambulance, with an arm sling around him was, Riya with a medic tending to his wounds. Next to him, Sakura sat on the edge of the ambulance and watched as the medic worked. They were also being watched over by two officers. As the medic was leaving Robin arrived on the scene.

"Hey, how are you guys doin'?" inquired Robin.

"Not bad," said Riya, "Considering everything that's happened, we did pretty alright."

"Listen, you guys did well today and if you like I could--"

"No, don't," interrupted Sakura, "You don't have to go through all that trouble, hero boy. We made our decision quite clear."

"Turning ourselves in like this to the police is what we think is the best choice we can make."

"You're absolutely sure about this, then?" asked Robin.

"We would rather spend time in jail than run around like fugitives. It's what we deserve. Besides once we get out, I'm sure everything will turn out a little better… for all of us. Think of it as a refresher coarse for me and Sakura. We clean up and start fresh. Best option we've thought of all day."

"Alright, I respect your decision. Who knows? We might get an opportunity to work together again sometime."

"That would be something to look forward too wouldn't it?"

"If you need anything else, remember were here for you guys."

"We'll remember…"

"Take care of yourself, hero boy…" said Sakura in a rather girlish way.

They waved goodbye to each other and Robin went away towards the Titans. The rest of the team was gathered near the center of the bridge. They were waiting for Robin and seemed eager when he actually arrived.

"So then," began Starfire, "is it as they say 'a case that is closed'?"

Robin seemed mildly entertained by that. "Yeah, Star. It's 'case closed'"

"Splendid."

"Yo, what about those two?" inquired Cyborg.

"Yeah dude, are they really turning themselves in?" inquired Beast Boy.

"Yes they are," answered Robin, "They feel it's the best way to resolve the situation. And frankly I agree with them. It may not go as we want it to be but it's their decision to make. We can't do anything about it right now."

"If that's the case, can we really say it's over?" asked Raven.

"For us, maybe. But for them… it's a fresh start to something new…"

And the rain continued to wash over the city.

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Author's note: Read the epilogue!


	18. Epilogue

Disclaimer: For the last time: I don't own the Teen Titans.

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Three days later…

Outside the city limits, the sun rises over the desert and a desolate looking facility. The facility was the City prison. Inside resided the criminal population of Jump City built far away from the populace for the sake of safety. There, these miscreants of the law are rehabilitated and hopefully return to the world of the public as changed people who would uphold the law. Rare and naïve as that may sound, such a story, or something like it, was just taking place right at that moment.

Sirens flashed and horns blared out and the front gates of the prison open partially. Two people walked out and the gates closed behind them. Only then did the alarms stop and the quiet of the desert return.

The two people who walked out were Riya and Sakura. They were in casual clothing courtesy of a donation and both were carrying gym bags filled with assorted luggage that they received through a donation as well. Riya, who still had an arm sling around his right arm, wore a simple blue polo shirt, denim pants, and a nice pair of running shoes. Sakura wore a simple green girlie t-shirt, shorts, and a pair of sandals. They both walked out onto the parking lot.

On the parking lot standing along side a Range Rover SUV was Dr. Cannes in his casual shirt, jacket, khaki pants, and leather shoes. Both Riya and Sakura smirked amusedly as they see the good Doctor who was smirking back.

"You know, when you told us about your crazy idea when you visited us yesterday, we thought it was joke," said Riya.

"And yet here you are…" said Sakura., "what are the odds?"

"What, are telling me you prefer it in there?" asked Dr. Cannes.

"Actually I do kinda like the gym service they give us," jokingly said Riya, "and that Atlas character is a hoot to spar with."

Dr. Cannes gave a hearty chuckle.

"But seriously," said Riya, "why get the pardon, the custody, and give us all this stuff on our backs. Why do this for us?"

"Or is it really for you?" asked Sakura.

Dr. Cannes gave a deep sigh and gathered his thoughts.

"Well, let me put it this way," he started, "For the most part of ten or so years from my life, I accepted a responsibility of raising two wonderful children. I thought I had done them justice as best I could but…I was wrong, I realize now it was cowardly of me to simply walk away from it all and leave the poor darlings lost and feeling unwanted. I've regretted that decision every waking moment since then."

The two siblings were silent, listening intently.

"I've always dreamed of having a second chance at that responsibility. And now I am asking…no, begging for you two to allow me to have my own chance at redeeming my mistake…"

For a while the three just stared at each other without saying a word.

"…I should warn you though," Riya broke the silence, "…were kinda a handful to be around with."

"Yeah, are you sure you can handle it?" asked Sakura.

Dr. Cannes smiled. "Oh, don't worry about me. I maybe an old man but I'm still pretty spry for my age."

"Alright then." Riya reached his hand forward. Dr. Cannes shook it. Sakura did the same thing and shook hands as well.

"Okay, then," continued the old man, "Now put all your stuff in the back and take a seat. We have a plane to catch in three hours and it's a long drive ahead."

Dr. Cannes opened the driver side door and reached in to press a switch under the seat. The back door opened and Riya and Sakura move to it to deposit their stuff. Cannes reached in further to the dashboard and pulled out a couple of things.

"And by the way, I got these for you two," he said calling the attention of the two siblings.

They came from the back end to see what it was. Cannes tossed a couple of things to them which they both caught. They looked closely at what they were given. They each had a cold bottle of Pepsi. They looked up at Dr. Cannes and he smiled at them. The two smirked back, uncapped the bottles and took a good long sip.

They all boarded the Range Rover. The engine started and the car began to drive off into the sunrise

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Author's note: I'm finally done with this story! Thanks to everyone who has read this fic and thanks to everybody who has and will give me a review! Hope you like it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. My next fic won't come up for some time but wait for it.

As always, Please R&R. PEACE OUT!


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